Acquisition provides The Kennedy Group with expanded customer base while offering Color Label customers additional products and services.
The Kennedy Group, Willoughby, OH, a leading provider of labeling, promotional, tracking, and identification solutions for a wide range of industries, has acquired St. Louis, MO-based Color Label, Inc., supplier of pressure sensitive labels to the agricultural and consumer product industries. Graphic Arts Advisors, LLC (GAA), Mountain Lakes, NJ, a strategic financial advisory and consulting firm devoted exclusively to all sectors of the graphic communications industry, serves as M&A advisor to The Kennedy Group and successfully consummated the transaction. GAA Senior Managing Director Mark Hahn conducted M&A outreach services to procure the seller and with John Hyde, Esq., GAA Managing Director, provided advice on the price and structure of the deal.
Through the M&A transaction, The Kennedy Group has gained significant new customer relationships in industries it already serves as well in new markets. The acquisition also helps The Kennedy Group strengthen its national footprint with expanded reach into the St. Louis market.
“We are committed to making a smooth transition for Color Label customers,” said Todd Kennedy. Todd and his brothers, co-CEOs Patrick and Michael, own and manage the second-generation family-owned company. “We will make a concerted effort to learn about their business and see where and how our wide array of production capabilities and service programs can benefit them.”
To support the goal of a seamless transition, Todd Kennedy noted, “We have retained a key employee that will be based in St. Louis to continue to provide our customers an easily accessible contact with someone who is intimate with their business.” The Kennedy Group also retained certain production and support personnel in St. Louis on a short-term basis to ensure continuity of product availability while production is shifted to the Cleveland-area facility.
Industry-wide, the acquisition market for label companies is highly active. As GAA’s Hahn has noted in the firm’s Target Report, “Acquisitions in the label market are driven in large part by private equity-backed platforms rolling up the industry. This is where our client, The Kennedy Group, can provide an alternative exit for the seller. They are owner/operators investing for the long haul and can work with sellers of all sizes for a successful outcome. GAA identified Color Label, which needed a new home due to the sale of real estate, as a highly appropriate and advantageous acquisition for this family-owned and managed company.”
“GAA has continued to be a great partner in helping to source appropriate acquisition opportunities,” noted Todd Kennedy, whose firm has made approximately eight acquisitions over the decade or so as part of The Kennedy Group’s growth strategy.
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