TA Associates, a leading growth private equity and buyout firm,
today announced it has completed a significant minority investment in
Gandinnovations, a leading manufacturer of state-of-the-art wide
format graphics printers and ink. Terms of the transaction were not
disclosed.
Founded in 2000, Gandinnovations offers several models of flatbed
and roll-to-roll solvent and UV printers for a wide variety of
commercial applications. Flatbed models print on rigid or flexible
substrates to create poster-sized advertisements or point of purchase
displays, or can be used for applications as diverse as adding
wood-grain finish to furnishings and flooring. Roll-to-roll printers
are typically used for vinyl billboards, truck and bus wraps, but may
also be used to create material such as wallpaper. Gandinnovations has
a worldwide installed base of over 1,000 printers, operating in more
than 50 countries. The company is headquartered in Mississauga,
Ontario, Canada with offices in San Antonio, Texas, Belgium, Dubai,
India and Mexico, and has a distributor network of over 40 resellers
across the globe.
"We are very pleased to complete this investment in
Gandinnovations," said A. Bruce Johnston, a Managing Director at TA
Associates who will join the company's Board of Directors. "With a
well-earned reputation for innovative product engineering and superior
performance, Gandinnovations has emerged as a true global leader in
wide format digital printing. We are excited to partner with James and
Hary Gandy to help them continue to grow the business." In keeping
with TA's investment approach, the Gandinnovations management team
will continue to run the business and there will be no change in
management structure.
"We are delighted to announce our partnership with TA Associates,"
said James Gandy, Founder and CEO of Gandinnovations. "We welcome TA's
financial support and industry experience, along with their flexible
and management friendly approach, and look forward to working closely
with them during this next phase of our growth."
"This partnership will allow us to invest in the future of our
products and continue to expand our international presence," remarked
Hary Gandy, President of Gandinnovations.
The wide format graphics market is a sub-sector of the display
graphics market, which has an estimated worldwide retail value of $100
billion, encompassing both analog and digital technologies. Analog
technology such as screen, offset, flexo and gravure printing
represents about $70 billion, with digital solutions, including ink
jet, electrophotography and thermal transfer, making up the remainder.
Manufacturers of wide format graphics printers generated revenues of
$8.9 billion in 2006, a figure expected to reach $12 billion by 2011.
"The wide format graphics printer market is undergoing a
fundamental change as newer UV flatbed and roll-to-roll offerings
replace older technologies," said Harry D. Taylor, a Senior Vice
President at TA Associates who will also join the company's Board of
Directors. "We anticipate Gandinnovations' growth to continue as
digital solutions gain greater market share, displacing screen
printing and other analog approaches to large format printing."
TA Associates has more than 39 years of investing experience,
focusing on profitable growth companies. The firm has invested in more
than 200 technology companies, including specialty printer and wide
format printing companies such as Fargo Electronics, Monotype Imaging
and Trident International.
Goodwin Procter served as legal counsel to TA Associates. Jaffe,
Raitt, Heuer & Weiss, P.C. provided legal services to Gandinnovations.
Gandinnovations
Gandinnovations designs, develops and manufactures wide format
digital printers. Founded in 2000 by industry pioneer James Gandy, the
company offers seven models of solvent and UV printers.
Gandinnovations is known for its cutting-edge technology, pioneering
true 600 dpi on all solvent printer models and true 1200 dpi on all UV
printer models. Gandinnovations is headquartered in Mississauga,
Ontario, Canada with sales and service headquartered in San Antonio,
Texas. Additional offices are located in Mexico City, Mumbai, India,
Belgium and Dubai, with service centers worldwide. More information
can be found at www.gandinnovations.com.
TA Associates
Founded in 1968, TA Associates is one of the largest and most
experienced private equity firms. With offices in Boston, London and
Menlo Park, the firm manages $10 billion in capital and has invested
in more than 380 companies. TA Associates provides management buyout,
leveraged recapitalization and growth equity capital primarily for
technology, financial services, business services, healthcare and
consumer businesses. More information about TA Associates can be found
at www.ta.com.