Acquisitions, an in-depth interview, event coverage, a rebranding, and more represent this month’s highlights.
Have you been following the stories we’ve been covering and tracking at The Cannata Report in April? There were a few big stories, including the acquisition of EFI and our interview with Jim Sheffield, CEO of UBEO about the company’s acquisitions strategy, as well as a big rebranding, event coverage (Brother, Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Sharp), two notable dealer acquisitions, and a surprising personnel change at the top of a major dealership.
In case you missed them, let’s recap what we consider the top stories from the month of April as covered by The Cannata Report.
Private Equity Strikes Again: EFI Acquired – The latest acquisition of Electronics For Imaging (EFI) by an affiliate of Siris Capital Group, LLC, and the acquisition of DEX by Staples (a private equity owned company) has raised the acquisitions bar to a level we’ve rarely if ever seen in the channel before. Read more.
What Every Dealer Needs to Know About UBEO’s Acquisitions Strategy – Jim Sheffield, CEO, UBEO Business Services in Austin, Texas, started selling copiers during his senior year in college in 1984. Since then he’s seen a lot and done a lot working in various capacities with different organizations before launching several companies formerly known as DOCUmation of Austin, Documation of East Texas and Documation of North Texas beginning in 2004. Today, UBEO is a $200+ million upwardly mobile organization that is growing rapidly through acquisition (and organic growth). Last year UBEO Business Services partnered with Sentinel Capital Partners, a private equity firm that has provided the company with the resources to grow. Read more.
Cooper In, Metz Out at Novatech ““ The private equity company Trivest Partners, owners of Novatech, Inc., hired Dan Cooper as CEO to lead the Managed IT and Print Services provider’s day-to-day business. This is a continuation of an expansion and succession plan underway for nearly two years. Founder Darren Metz will continue his ownership interest and take on the new role of Executive Chairman. Read more.
Kyocera Innovates in Vegas – Kyocera Document Solutions America held its annual dealer meeting April 16-18 in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand. Norihiko Ina, president of Kyocera Document Solutions Inc., delivered the company’s financial results, indicating that he expected strong growth in FY19. His optimism comes from the underperformance in color throughout the Americas during the previous year, a segment where Ina sees opportunities for improvement. Last year, 62% of Kyocera placements in the Americas were in color as compared to 82% in Western Europe and 86% in Japan. Read more.
Is Brother Ready to Be a Player? – On April 11 and 12, Brother held a briefing for press and analysts at Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, to update us on its product portfolio, programs, solutions, and services for the independent dealer channel. The company is offering customers solutions and services that aid in digital transformation. Examples include file sharing in the cloud; open architecture; scanning, distribution, and document management; print security; expanded device management and services via Brother’s Value Print Program (VPP) and Managed Print Services (MPS); personal desktop document management; and strategic partnerships that expand its business models. Read more.
Sharp Touts Smart Office During Road Show Run – The last of Sharp’s four Road Shows convened in Chicago April 1-2. Previous stops included Baltimore, Houston, and Los Angeles. The theme of the Road Shows was “Momentum,” and kicked off with comments from John Sheehan, vice president of channel sales, who reported that Sharp’s revenue looks good, and even though prices are declining, unit sales continue to increase. He also noted that Sharp’s close ratio is improving, meaning when the company gets involved in deals, the close ratio is between 40 to 45%. Read more.
BEI Services Rebrands to NEXERA – BEI Services, Inc. announced that it will be rebranded under the corporate name NEXERA. Among the other changes will be its logo, tag line: “Helping dealers thrive in the next era of imaging” and domain name (www.nexeranow.com). The name change reflects the company’s commitment and its expertise in providing the tools needed to shape the future of a rapidly changing industry. Read more.
RJ Young Acquires Business Electronics – RJ Young completed the acquisition of Business Electronics (BE), a privately-owned office technology and solutions provider in Birmingham, Alabama. Founded in 1988, Business Electronics has serviced the greater Birmingham area providing products and services, including document management solutions, IT solutions, digital interactive whiteboards and displays, AV, imaging and unified communications systems. Read more.
Konica Minolta Dealers Rate Company’s Latest Dealer Meeting – Konica Minolta held its 2019 dealer meeting in Newport Beach, CA, March 4-5. The theme of the conference was “Limitless.” Our April print issue features a comprehensive recap of the event. To complement that feature, we surveyed six dealers about their impressions of the meeting. Read more.
Oval Partners Acquires Two Texarkana Dealers – Oval Partners announced a new partnership with Office Equipment of Texarkana and South Arkansas. Office Equipment of Texarkana and South Arkansas provides office technology services and document management to businesses across East Texas and South Arkansas. The companies are headquartered in Texarkana, Texas and El Dorado, Arkansas. Read more.
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