Stick to Your Knitting - June 2023 M&A Activity

The phrase “stick to your knitting” can be traced back to 1820 in American literature; but the concept is much older. In Greek times, Pliny the Elder noted that the “cobbler should stick to his last” because shoe-making is what a cobbler does best. The concept is simple, concentrate on one’s core business.

Increasing Market Penetration

In a move that shows a steady hand on the tiller, the Lakeside Book Company has acquired Marquis Book Printing, Canada’s largest book manufacturing company. The acquisition adds significant Canadian book production capacity to Lakeside Book, maintaining the company’s renewed laser-like focus on its core book manufacturing business. It’s a great example of a company that is executing a classic M&A strategy: acquire a business to increase presence and strength in the market for its existing product specialty. There is the added positive geographic rationale to this deal, expanding into Canadian English and French-speaking markets. Lakeside also noted in the press release that an additional factor in the decision to acquire Marquis was its business model, which serves small to mid-sized publishers. Nonetheless, at its heart, the acquisition of Marquis by Lakeside Book is additive to the core business. This was not a move to diversify and add a new and disparate product or service offering.