Shifting Tides in The Wide-Format Printing Landscape

By: Mark Hahn, Senior Managing Director

The wide-format printing segment has matured and is fully integrated into the larger printing and graphic communications industry. Many commercial shops now include at least some type of wide-format production capability. Several years ago, we noted very few M&A transactions in which the acquired company was in the wide-format segment. Transactions involving wide-format printing are now a regular occurrence. Consolidation plays, while not rampant, are occurring on a steady basis.

As the wide-format business matures, we find that buyers are going down the same road traveled in past decades by commercial printing companies: growth via acquisition. In 2023, the percentage of transactions structured as tuck-ins in this segment increased to 50% of the announced total. This is a dramatic departure from 2022, in which the transactions were primarily driven by a desire to add a production facility. We see the greater percentage of deals structured as tuck-ins as a clear indication that the segment has matured. Owners of previously independent operations have decided that the time has come to join with a larger company.