Print.IT Reseller - issue 55

Continued... 01732 759725 16 ACQUISITION Consolidation within the print industry is not new. Nor indeed is the news that OEMs are acquiring dealerships – think Ricoh acquiring IKON, Kyocera’s purchase of Annodata and more recently Sharp’s acquisition of Midshire. However, this latest transaction, which values Apogee as of closing at £380 million, is one that will undoubtedly be a game-changer in terms of the impact it will have on both OEM and channel vendors. IDC analysts Jacqui Hendriks and Sharon McNee, describe it as a very strong offensive and defensive move by HP Inc. in the battle to conquer the market. Hendriks said: “The key benefits that HP Inc. cited after it split from HP Enterprise was the ability to focus on print and be more agile – rapidly acting on potential investments to drive business growth. One of its key strategies is to gain a strong foothold in the copier/MFP market through developed or acquired skills often associated with traditional office equipment or copier dealers.” She continued: “This is the first example of it extending its go-to-market capability through channel acquisition and perhaps there is more to come. By choosing to acquire rather than partner with a major channel player, HP Inc. is imitating the approach traditional copier market players adopted in order to increase their customer base and limit opportunities for their main competitors.” HP Inc. has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Apogee, a move that expands its services portfolio in contractual office printing and MPS categories, where solutions are increasingly important for SMBs The acquirer is acquired Apogee has for some time been on an acquisition trail, securing private equity funding and integrating multiple independent resellers into its ever- growing business. The biggest deal (as reported in PITR March 2017), was of course the acquisition of Danwood – reportedly the UK’s largest independent provider of document technology and managed print services to SMEs and the corporate and public sectors in the UK and Ireland. According to IDC, Xerox was in the running to acquire Danwood – a major Xerox as well as HP partner. “Having lost Danwood to Apogee, Xerox is in danger of losing Apogee as a significant channel partner,” McNee said, adding: “Xerox has a global channel strategy that includes seeking channel players for acquisition. In Europe, this activity is very selective. However, Xerox will need to move faster if it intends to execute on this strategy.” Investing in A3 business HP has been investing in the A3 business with strategic initiatives including the acquisition of Samsung’s printer business in late 2017, and the launch of a portfolio of superior A3 and A4 multifunction printers based on unique IP and value-added services and solutions. In a statement announcing the completion of its $1.05 billion acquisition of Samsung’s printer business in late 2017, HP President and CEO Dion Weisler said: “Together, we will build more than 30 years of print leadership to accelerate our strategy, disrupt new market opportunities and provide our customers and partners with unique and highly innovative print solutions.” This latest transaction furthers the company’s plan to disrupt the $55 billion A3 copier market and builds on its printing strategy to enhance its A3 and A4 product portfolio, build differentiated solutions and tools to expand its managed print services and invest in its direct and indirect go-to-market capabilities. This includes the selective acquisition of OEDs that provide access to increased profit pools from higher margin services. Profitable and progressive IDC 2018 Western European Hardcopy Survey indicates that companies want to work with experienced print service providers who can demonstrate their ability to execute and support their business process document workflow initiatives. Apogee is a profitable and progressive dealership with strong Apogee is a profitable and progressive dealership with strong capabilities in contractual printing services and solutions Jacqui Hendriks, IDC analyst