New York City-based private equity investment firm ICV Capital Partners L.L.C. announced in October that it had acquired Press-A-Print International L.L.C, a promotional products company with roughly $18 million in revenues. Press-A-Print joins a portfolio that includes packaging, food, and hospitality companies.
The financial terms of the deal-the second platform investment from ICV’s $313 million fund, ICV Partners II-were not disclosed.
Press-A-Print “met our investment criteria,” says Willie Woods, co-founder and managing director of ICV. “It’s the market leader in what it does, it has very high-gross profit margins, it’s doing something unique and special that brings customer value, and the management team was pretty strong and is making a direct investment into the business.”
The move reflects an increased interest in the growing promotional-products market, says Timothy M. Andrews, president and CEO of the Advertising Specialty Institute, a trade publisher that covers the industry. “In 2006, the industry rose between 5% and 6%, and I would say that the growth in 2007 has been about that as well,” Andrews adds. “We think there’s a tremendous potential for expansion in the marketplace, and so private equity is very smartly looking into this industry as one that is a good one for them.”