{"id":45062,"date":"2021-05-20T13:46:54","date_gmt":"2021-05-20T20:46:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=45062"},"modified":"2021-05-20T13:46:56","modified_gmt":"2021-05-20T20:46:56","slug":"lets-make-a-deal-pandemic-buckling-portends-dramatic-boom-in-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/feature-articles\/2021\/05\/lets-make-a-deal-pandemic-buckling-portends-dramatic-boom-in-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Let\u2019s Make a Deal: Pandemic Buckling Portends Dramatic Boom in Business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Not to knock our president, who seems to be doing an admirable job during his first five months in office (save for those individuals who stand to get dinged by a capital gains tax increase; they\u2019re holding off on doing cartwheels), but perhaps the worst thing he could have done was strip off his mask and declare the age of mask-wearing to be over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Certainly, it\u2019s a good thing and a welcome gesture. But here in New Jersey, where Gov. Phil Murphy is the equivalent of the strictest of parents, the de-masking only caused confusion and frustration. Yes, Pennsylvania is taking off the masks; ditto for New York and Delaware. New Jerseyans feel like the youngsters going to bed at 8 p.m. on a summer night while the other kids are still playing outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s an inconvenience, a mental roadblock at best. As much as it stings, we take solace in knowing that masks will likely be history before the Fourth of July. Certainly, those individuals with underlying issues\/pre-existing conditions will continue to don them for the foreseeable future, but the frustration and acrimony these seemingly harmless mitigation tools have created, and the accompanying psychological anguish (plus, the pro\/anti factions that unfortunately became politicized) desperately need to go away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But forget the masks for a minute. Ever hear a mysterious noise that precedes a stack of boxes falling, or the crackling of a chair, branch or tree that is about to break? Well, there are ominous noises coming from our end of the business community, and the crunching\/smashing noise it\u2019s about to release will be most welcome, because it means business activity is about to resume in a meaningful way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result? A slew of acquisitions, a bounty of partnerships and increased market activity is just around the corner. It\u2019s actually closer than you think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the Horizon<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not slow on our end,\u201d said one industry amigo. \u201cWe are putting out press releases on new relationships with [redacted] to expand our offerings in cloud communications and should have a bigger announcement that I\u2019m not allowed to share yet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Said another prominent dealer, who spoke to me recently on the subject of M&A for our June State of the Industry focus, \u201cWe have between four and six deals we\u2019ll be announcing in the coming months.\u201d And this was not an outlier. Another added, \u201cWe\u2019ve been on the sidelines for quite a while, but that\u2019s about to end.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One deal that is not likely to happen is the CVC Capital acquisition of Toshiba Corp. Unlike the HP-Xerox saga from 2019-2020, this doesn\u2019t have marquee names pushing for a deal to get done. In fact, only weeks after British-based CVC made its woo pitch public (much to Toshiba\u2019s dismay\u2026nothing like trying to fend off requests for \u201cWhat do you make of the offer?\u201d in real-time when the ink on the overture hasn\u2019t had time to dry), the manufacturer deemed the nearly $21 billion offer unreviewable due to a lack of concrete details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It should be noted that Toshiba America Business Solutions\u2019 parent company is Toshiba Tec, which is listed independently on the Nikkei exchange. And while Toshiba Corp. is Toshiba Tec\u2019s largest shareholder, there doesn\u2019t seem to be any imminent movement for the time being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince it was an unsolicited offer and the Toshiba board has decided to step aside, I don\u2019t see anything happening very quickly,\u201d noted Jim Kahrs of Prosperity Plus Management Consulting. \u201cIt\u2019s similar to the Xerox unsolicited offer for HP\u2014lots of press and talk throughout the industry, but nothing came of it. For this deal to go forward, the parties will need to engage in meaningful discussions, not just an exchange of letters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inflation Caveat<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Toshiba has its hand in a lot of business ventures other than imaging solutions, seeing one of the major manufacturers garnering private equity attention is another welcome sign that times are good and about to get a lot better, as long as talk of inflation does not crimp post-pandemic plans. Even prior to the pandemic, some observers felt that an HP-Xerox type of coupling among manufacturers could be in the cards. As 2021 rolls on and OEMs assess both the damage and opportunities that exist on the back end, we could well see a major announcement in Q1 of 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In conclusion, if President Biden\u2019s unmasking did anything, it was to symbolically suggest that a return to normal is not far off. And judging by the murmurs throughout the industry, that normal just might include some fireworks. This is a breath of fresh air, in more ways than one. Stay tuned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Not to knock our president, who seems to be doing an admirable job during his first five months in office (save for those individuals who stand to get dinged by a capital gains tax increase; they\u2019re holding off on doing cartwheels), but perhaps the worst thing he could have done was strip off his mask and declare the age of mask-wearing to be over. Certainly, it\u2019s a good thing and a welcome gesture. But here in New Jersey, where Gov. Phil Murphy is the equivalent of the strictest of parents, the de-masking only caused confusion and frustration. Yes, Pennsylvania is taking off the masks; ditto for New York and Delaware. New Jerseyans feel like the youngsters going to bed at 8 p.m. on a summer night while the other kids are still playing outside. It\u2019s an inconvenience, a mental roadblock at best. As much as it stings, we take solace in knowing that masks will likely be history before the Fourth of July. Certainly, those individuals with underlying issues\/pre-existing conditions will continue to don them for the foreseeable future, but the frustration and acrimony these seemingly harmless mitigation tools have created, and the accompanying psychological anguish (plus, the pro\/anti factions that unfortunately became politicized) desperately need to go away. But forget the masks for a minute. Ever hear a mysterious noise that precedes a stack of boxes falling, or the crackling of a chair, branch or tree that is about to break? Well, there are ominous noises coming from our end of the business community, and the crunching\/smashing noise it\u2019s about to release will be most welcome, because it means business activity is about to resume in a meaningful way. The result? A slew of acquisitions, a bounty of partnerships and increased market activity is just around the corner. It\u2019s actually closer than you think. On the Horizon \u201cIt\u2019s not slow on our end,\u201d said one industry amigo. \u201cWe are putting out press releases on new relationships with [redacted] to expand our offerings in cloud communications and should have a bigger announcement that I\u2019m not allowed to share yet.\u201d Said another prominent dealer, who spoke to me recently on the subject of M&A for our June State of the Industry focus, \u201cWe have between four and six deals we\u2019ll be announcing in the coming months.\u201d And this was not an outlier. Another added, \u201cWe\u2019ve been on the sidelines for quite a while, but that\u2019s about to end.\u201d One deal that is not likely to happen is the CVC Capital acquisition of Toshiba Corp. Unlike the HP-Xerox saga from 2019-2020, this doesn\u2019t have marquee names pushing for a deal to get done. In fact, only weeks after British-based CVC made its woo pitch public (much to Toshiba\u2019s dismay\u2026nothing like trying to fend off requests for \u201cWhat do you make of the offer?\u201d in real-time when the ink on the overture hasn\u2019t had time to dry), the manufacturer deemed the nearly $21 billion offer unreviewable due to a lack of concrete details. It should be noted that Toshiba America Business Solutions\u2019 parent company is Toshiba Tec, which is listed independently on the Nikkei exchange. And while Toshiba Corp. is Toshiba Tec\u2019s largest shareholder, there doesn\u2019t seem to be any imminent movement for the time being. \u201cSince it was an unsolicited offer and the Toshiba board has decided to step aside, I don\u2019t see anything happening very quickly,\u201d noted Jim Kahrs of Prosperity Plus Management Consulting. \u201cIt\u2019s similar to the Xerox unsolicited offer for HP\u2014lots of press and talk throughout the industry, but nothing came of it. For this deal to go forward, the parties will need to engage in meaningful discussions, not just an exchange of letters.\u201d Inflation Caveat While Toshiba has its hand in a lot of business ventures other than imaging solutions, seeing one of the major manufacturers garnering private equity attention is another welcome sign that times are good and about to get a lot better, as long as talk of inflation does not crimp post-pandemic plans. Even prior to the pandemic, some observers felt that an HP-Xerox type of coupling among manufacturers could be in the cards. As 2021 rolls on and OEMs assess both the damage and opportunities that exist on the back end, we could well see a major announcement in Q1 of 2022. In conclusion, if President Biden\u2019s unmasking did anything, it was to symbolically suggest that a return to normal is not far off. And judging by the murmurs throughout the industry, that normal just might include some fireworks. This is a breath of fresh air, in more ways than one. Stay tuned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":45063,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1650,82,87,1638],"tags":[348],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45062"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45062"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45062\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45064,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45062\/revisions\/45064"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}