Rutland Partners is a London-based private equity fund. It invested £33m and took a majority stake in Walstead back in 2016, in a deal that allowed the group to purchase Austrian group Leykam Let’s Print and pursue its “last man standing” strategy.
Chairman Mark Scanlon commented: “We have had an excellent relationship with Rutland over the last 10 years.
“Their intention to sell is not unexpected and will, undoubtedly, create an opportunity for a new investor to support the ongoing growth of Walstead which will continue to consolidate the European commercial print sector.”
Walstead has selected AlixPartners to manage the sale process, which will officially launch later this year and is not expected to complete until 2026.
The Walstead business has grown on the back of a string of acquisitions, but the group is also battling decline in its core high volume markets and has shuttered a number of factories as a result.
Rutland Partners partner Olly Jones said: “We are proud to have worked closely with Walstead’s management team, and supported the successful growth and expansion of the group, which is now the largest commercial printing business in Europe.”
In a statement, Walstead noted that its executive team also hold a significant stake in the business, and “will continue to lead the group during and after the sale is concluded”.
In its most recent results, for 2023, gross sales at Walstead Group were down 10.3% at just under €582m (£490m). Net sales excluding paper slipped by 3.5% to €378.1m.
The group made an operating loss of €800,000 compared to a €13.9m operating profit the prior year.
In his results commentary Scanlon said Walstead was looking at M&A opportunities in other areas of graphic arts beyond its web offset heartland.
“We are now setting our sights on quality businesses in the wider graphic industries space that offer growth prospects, can be scaled up through selective investment, are well-managed, and generate strong cashflows,” Scanlon stated.
He also noted that it would not be a fast-track strategy and it could be 2025 or beyond before the group gained a foothold in a new sector.
There have been significant changes of ownership recently among some of Walstead’s continental competitors, with German private equity firm Capmont acquiring the European printing operations of US group Quad/Graphics; and German group Stark Druck taken over by Pentapart and Aurona Capital.
AlixPartners managing director and partner Nick Wood wrote an opinion piece for the April/May issue of Printweek, looking at M&A activity in the sector.
