Mark Bawden

Trends in Mergers and Acquisitions During the BookTech 2000 seminar "Quick Update: Digital Technologies and Economic Trends," Mark Bawden, senior vice president, sales and marketing, Von Hoffman Graphics, outlined current trends in mergers and acquisitions. He also noted the factors behind them in the book publishing industry. Why do book printers merge? * To achieve faster growth in their niche; * to expand into other niches; * to add "mass" to go public; * in response to changes in print buying habits; * in recognition of manufacturing synergies; * because of technology issues; * in reaction to family business issues. * in response to merging of customers within a niche; * to expand into other