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16
ACQUISITIONS
The firm secured significant
investment from Equistone Partners
Europe, a pan-European, mid-market
investor in September 2016, and
has wasted no time spending the
money, this latest deal is its fourth
acquisition in just six months.
Additional strategic acquisitions
completed by the Group include Glasgow-
based Direct Business Systems (DBS),
a family-led business with a strong
reputation for customer-focused local
support and service built up over 21 years
of trading. The company, which was bought
in October last year, counts many high
profile organisations amongst its client
base, including distillers Whyte&Mackay,
charity Sense Scotland, and the logistics
specialist the Malcolm Group. DBS
provides technology from four different
manufacturer partners and the service
operation supports an installed base of
nearly 1,500 devices.
Just one month later, Apogee announced
it had completed the acquisition of Hibernian
Business Equipment Limited, one of Ireland’s
leading print management and managed
print service providers, giving the business
a new Irish footprint. And in December,
CityDocs, one of the UK’s leading specialist
providers of in-house and outsourced print
and digital document services was absorbed
into the Group. The deal included Willow
Graphics, CityDocs’ visual communications
operation which provides creative services,
large format and digital printing.
Biggest deal to date
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, for
an undisclosed sum, is undoubtedly a deal
that the industry didn’t see coming.
By combining the two businesses,
Apogee will create Europe’s largest
independent provider of managed services
for print, document and process technology.
The purchase will significantly enhance its
client base with the addition of over 10,000
retained customers and approximately
8,000 transactional customers. Furthermore,
it will augment the service already provided
to Apogee’s client base with the addition
of a strong service network that supports
hardware and software from multiple
manufacturers including Kyocera, Xerox,
HP, Samsung and Sharp, many of whom are
also existing supplier partners of Apogee.
Scale and reach
The existing Apogee Board of Directors,
led by Joint CEOs Jason Collins and Robin
Stanton-Gleaves, will continue to manage
the Group following the acquisition.
Commenting on the deal, Collins said:
“This significant acquisition for Apogee
provides us with the scale and reach to be
a leading player in the European market
for managed print services. Danwood
has terrific strengths that complement
Apogee’s offering and strategy, including
a large client base of major corporate
businesses, government and public sector
organisations, and a strong service network
that will increase the Group’s coverage and
capacity to support its clients across the UK
and continental Europe.”
“Apogee is dedicated to providing
its customers with best-in-class, pro-
active managed services and advanced
workflow solutions,” Stanton-Gleaves
added. “This offering, which has driven
Apogee’s reputation as the first choice
provider for multi-vendor print technology
and service, has been a key driver of our
recent strategic decisions. Having created
Europe’s largest service provider with the
addition of Danwood to the Group, we
look forward to further extending our
leadership in pro-active managed services
Apogee has acquired Danwood, a move that
has created Europe’s largest independent
provider of managed print services and
increased annual revenues to over £250 million
Apogee completes largest
acquisition to date
and advanced workflow solutions.”
Apogee stated its intention to continue
to make further strategic acquisitions to
drive its growth in the UK and Continental
Europe.
Industry response
Comparisons have been drawn with the
Samsung/HP deal last year, and there’s has
been a lot of social media chatter around
the deal. As with everything, there has been
a mixed response, however in the main, it’s
been positive. A LinkedIn post announcing
the acquisition by Phil Holvey, Group
Commercial Sales Director at Apogee, got
107 likes and multiple comments a few of
which are tabled below:
“Having spent 9 yrs at Danwood & 3
at Apogee, this is a truly ground-breaking
acquisition, offering countless potential
moving forward. Great work Phil Holvey
and the Apogee team.”
“Great move Phil ...erm can you ask
Jason Collins to dig a bit deeper and buy
some more please?? This continual reduction
in the number of competitors is fantastic.”
“Congratulations on the Danwood
acquisition, which transforms your business
in Scotland, and represents an amazing
opportunity.”
“I guess that firmly establishes Apogee
as UK's #1 independent Phil... arguably
bigger than any of the mainstream
manufacturers' UK businesses... Heady
times!!”
“Exciting times ahead. Good luck to all
my friends at Danwood.”
The news however wasn’t welcomed
by all, an article posted on Lincolnshire
Business – Danwood has around 400 staff
at its Lincoln site – reported that employees
said that around 120 people will be made
redundant, some of which will be put on
three months ‘gardening leave’.
In the piece posted online, the
publication reported that one employee
told Lincolnshire Business: “It’s been very
underhand. Danwood said that they had
a 10-year plan and they have just sold
out. There has been rumours for ages but
Danwood had been saying everything was
fine. I just think people should be aware.”
The employee added that many of the
senior management team have already left
the business.
This
significant
acquisition
for Apogee
provides us
with the scale
and reach to
be a leading
player in the
European
market for
managed
print services
