Staples to unload $550 million in sales to Essendant - MAYBE

Blog Publisher’s comment:

Interesting deal.  Heck, I’d pay $22.5 million to pick up $550 million in additional business!  This deal (potential deal) shows that Staples is hell-bent on influencing the FTC to let Staples’ Office Depot merger deal go through.

Found on streetinsider.com

February 16, 2016 4:17 PM EST

Essendant Inc. (NASDAQ: ESND) announced an agreement to purchase from Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS) contracts with minority and woman-owned office supply resellers and their large corporate and other enterprise customers representing sales of more than $550 million annually. The transaction is subject to the successful completion of the proposed merger of Staples and Office Depot, Inc., as well as other regulatory and customary closing conditions. Under the terms of the agreement, Essendant will pay Staples approximately $22.5 million.

These commercial contracts with large corporate and other customers, often referred to as enterprise accounts, are currently serviced primarily by the resellers with Staples and Office Depot, Inc. (NASDAQ: ODP) acting as a wholesaler. If completed, the acquisition of these contracts and related assets would significantly increase Essendant's presence with enterprise accounts and enable independent dealers in combination with Essendant to effectively compete for their business nationally.

In the first year following closing, Essendant anticipates minimal impact to earnings per share due to transition costs and expects to make further investments in working capital of approximately $100 million to support the business.

The Federal Trade Commission has challenged Staples' acquisition of Office Depot on antitrust grounds. A U.S. district court hearing is scheduled to begin in March 2016 on the FTC's petition for a preliminary injunction prohibiting the consummation of the merger until completion of a trial before an FTC administrative law judge.

Thomas Printworks acquires Seebridge Media (Seebridge Media's core business is offset printing and direct mail)

Press Release – received Feb 16, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Brianna Long
Email: brianna.long@thomasprintworks.com
Phone: 469.341.1652

Thomas Printworks Enhances Market Position with Strategic Acquisition in Houston, Texas

(Richardson, Texas) - Thomas Printworks is pleased to announce the acquisition of Seebridge Media in Houston, Texas from Steve Johns and Larry Vaughn effective February 1, 2016.  Seebridge Media’s core business is offset printing and direct mail but also offers some large format printing.

Seebridge Media formed in 2012 when Johns and Vaughn merged their two companies together to become a full-service marketing communications provider.  They have grown to 117 employees and operate in a 110,000 sq. ft. production facility on the north side of Houston, Texas.  Steve Johns will remain with Thomas Printworks as their Regional Vice President and Larry Vaughn will remain in the role as their Sales Manager. 

This agreement broadens the services that Thomas Printworks and Visualogistix, a division of Thomas Printworks, are able to provide to its customers.  “Our acquisition of Seebridge complements our overall vision and goals. With the added capabilities of Seebridge we are better able to provide our customers with creative and innovative solutions to their marketing needs through the use of high-quality print signage and collateral. This acquisition represents an important strategic opportunity for Thomas Printworks, with the goals of adding print capabilities, efficiencies, and expansion across markets,” says Bryan Thomas, President & CEO of Thomas Printworks.



About Thomas Printworks
Thomas Printworks is a privately held, family-owned company that has been in business since 1956.  Thomas Printworks brings 60 years of experience in the visual communications, printing, and technology industries together to provide the highest levels of quality and customer service. Thomas Printworks is based in Richardson, TX with locations strategically located across the United States. For more information visit www.thomasprintworks.com or call 800-877-3776.

Who said reprographers can’t reinvent themselves?

According to a brief search on Google today, one of the two co-founders of ABC Imaging, Mir Falsafi, is in the Tea and Coffee business …. and Mir’s business is based in Las Vegas, NV.

When you’re out in LV, be sure to look him up, wish him well, and, most importantly, buy some coffee or tea!

Contact name: 

Mir Falsafi

Contact email address: 

mirfalsafi@gmail.com

Address: 

3063 Sheridan St

Las Vegas, NV 89102

United States

Web sites:

http://teacoffee.com/welcome/

http://www.chieticoffee.com/about/

Side note:  Smile…..the rainbow color background of the logo on the teacoffee.com web-site looks curiously similar to ABC Imaging’s logo!

AIA Forecast: 8% Increase in Non-Residential Construction in 2016

Read note on CalculatedRiskBlog at this link:

http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2016/02/aia-forecast-8-increase-in.html

Gartner Positions ARC Document Solutions in 2015 Magic Quadrant for Managed Print and Content Services

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Press release from the issuing company

WALNUT CREEK, CA - ARC Document Solutions Inc. (NYSE: ARC), the nation's leading document solutions provider for the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, today announced it has been positioned as a niche player in the December 21, 2015, Magic Quadrant for Managed Print and Content Services, published by Gartner Inc. (NYSE: IT). ARC is the only company listed in the report with its principle market emphasis on the architectural, engineering and construction industry. Depending on the needs of its clients, ARC uses a variety of MFPs, as well as conventional and wide-format printers from different manufacturers to fulfill its offering.

"Since becoming an MPS client in 2015, we've finally realized our true costs of printing through the integration of the devices and ARC's Abacus software. We are seeing consistent print reductions, efficiency gains, and increased flexibility in every subsequent quarter," said, Stephen Held, Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Leo A Daly, an internationally recognized planning, architecture, engineering, and program management firm. "Every business review ARC is continuously optimizing our print and document management environment -- which is exactly what they promise. As a result, it's no surprise to see ARC included in the coveted Magic Quadrant."

ARC Document Solutions' Managed Print Services allow its customers to drastically reduce hidden, uncontrolled costs in print management, minimize administrative and support burdens, and optimize employee efficiency through better document management. ARC manages all print components and expenses under a flexible and customized contract. The company is completely agnostic with regard to equipment brands and manufacturers, and helps scale and monitor an intelligent print infrastructure that delivers ongoing cost reductions and technology upgrades.

"We continue to offer a differentiated solution to our customers based on our domain expertise in the design and construction industries," said K. "Suri" Suriyakumar, Chairman, President and CEO of ARC Document Solutions. "Our software and services not only allow our customers to manage the day-to-day functions of their fleet of equipment, content workflow, and user behavior, but they provide the information and insight that drives optimization in document use. More and more our customers are working in a hybrid environment of paper, digital documents, and cloud-based access to information. ARC's MPS adds value to the process, improves collaboration, and drives down the cost of printing throughout the organization."

For more information, please visit ARC Document Solutions MPS web page at: www.e-arc.com/mps/, or contact us at 925-949-5100.

ARC's Board of Directors Approves Share Repurchase Program

Note found on StreetInsider.com

February 8, 2016 4:27 PM EST

ARC Document Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: ARC) today announced that its Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program that authorizes the company to purchase up to $15 million of the company's outstanding common stock through December 31, 2017.

"The share repurchase program reflects management's confidence in the business and the future of our new offerings," said K. "Suri" Suriyakumar, Chairman, President and CEO of ARC Document Solutions. "The current disconnect between ARC's share price and its fundamental value has created an excellent opportunity to create significant long-term benefits for the company and its shareholders by buying back our common stock. The strength of our cash flows will allow us not only to repurchase shares in the coming quarters, but also to continue to invest in the long-term growth of our business."

In connection with the share repurchase program, ARC Document Solutions amended its senior secured credit agreement in order to provide additional flexibility to repurchase shares.

Under the new repurchase program, purchases of shares of common stock may be made from time to time in the open market, or in privately negotiated transactions, in compliance with applicable state and federal securities laws. The timing and amounts of any purchases will be based on market conditions and other factors including price, regulatory requirements, and capital availability. The share buyback program does not obligate the company to acquire any specific number of shares in any period, and may be expanded, extended, modified or discontinued at any time without prior notice.

The company expects that the repurchase program will be funded by cash flows generated from its operations. At the end of 2015, the Company had approximately 47 million shares of common stock issued and outstanding.