SmartPrint strengthens its claim to being Canada’s largest independent MPS provider by acquiring the Toronto MPS business of Lasercorp, which is highly focused on legal and professional services in downtown Toronto.
Tim Lomax, president of SmartPrint Inc.
SmartPrint, the Toronto-headquartered national managed print services (MPS) provider, has announced it has acquired the Toronto MPS practice of Lasercorp, which amounts to their client list. Lasercorp will continue to operate in Montreal
“In the grand scheme of things, this acquisition is relatively small in revenue – about a half million dollars and a hundred customers,” said Tim Lomax, SmartPrint’s president. “It is, however, highly strategic as to what their focus is, which is MPS for legal and professional services in the core downtown Toronto area. Every single customer is in that vertical.”
Lomax said these new clients are an excellent complement to their own Toronto clients in the legal sector.
“We have focused on the top 20 law firms and these are the next tier down, more of the midmarket,” he said. “They have a number of customized white glove offerings that they offer clients.” Lomax indicated that SmartPrint will be able to offer Lasercorp’s clients a broader portfolio of services, which can further increase their efficiency and cost savings.
SmartPrint, which has Canadian offices in Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver as well as Toronto, is emphasizing that the deal re-affirms their status as Canada’s largest MPS provider. They have been searching for this kind of strategic acquisition for some time, but have found it a difficult process.
“We’ve been looking for the right fit for a couple of years,” Lomax said. “Mergers and acquisitions in managed print in the U.S. have been rolling along at full speed, but one challenge in Canada is that there are fewer players. Another of the challenges in Canada is that as managed print has evolved and become more sophisticated in the last couple years, finding a good fit has been difficult because those testing the market [about being acquired] have been more in the transactional space. They have had their backs up against the wall. Lasercorp, on the other hand, is a focused managed print company with contracts with customers.”
Lomax indicated they would like to expand further, with the right kind of acquisition targets.
“We have a number of other discussions, but they aren’t ready to pull the trigger,” he said.
LaserCorp’s entire Toronto-based technical services team will be joining SmartPrint.
