Israeli IT company Matrix IT has acquired a majority stake in Gestetnertec Ltd, a Tel Aviv-based office machines company, for US$49.8 million. The announcement was made through a filing to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange on Sunday.
This is M&A deal 282 that ChannelE2E has covered so far in 2020. See the complete M&A deal list here.
The deal was organized through the Matrix subsidiary Caliber Engineering and Computers, which distributes 3D-printers and scanners throughout Israel.
Supplying Israel's GAU and Ministry of Defense
Gestetnertec. founded in 1931, has around 7,000 customers in the country, including Israel’s General Accountant Unit and Ministry of Defense, the filing indicated.
In 2019, Gestetnertec revenue was US$26.9 million -- with a net profit of $3.7 million.
According to Matrix, Gestetnertec will be merged with its 3D printer business once the acquisition is closed.
Matrix IT is extremely experienced in the M&A market. The company has acquired 80 businesses over the past 18 years. Total headcount is now 10,337 employees -- who generate more than $1 billion in revenue.
ChannelE2E has reached out to Matrix IT for additional comment about the deal.
Office Equipment M&A Stuck in Slowdown?
Meanwhile, the coronavirus pandemic caused a downturn in M&A activity within the office equipment sector.
According to Mike Dudek of Zygoquest, a top M&A advisor within the sector, his firm saw a slowdown in deal activity and transactions under signed letters-of-intent (LOI). While no transactions were cancelled, according to Dudek, his firm did see many of the exclusivity provisions in existing LOIs extended. Indeed, the last deal we saw within the office equipment space was in February of 2020 when ImageNet Consulting acquired PC LAN Techs, largely before the effects of the pandemic had taken hold.
Of course, ChannelE2E has been keeping a tally of similar deals over the last five years, which you can see here.
