Acquisition by Henry Wurst of Kansas City a Win/Win for Both Companies 

Philadelphia PA - New Direction Partners, the leading mergers & acquisitions resource for the printing and packaging industries, today reported it represented St. Louis based Universal Printing in the sale of the business to Henry Wurst of Kansas City. The sale was a result of long-term strategic planning on the part of Universal Printing. The company felt that a strategic buyer would bring more value to its shareholders than a financial buyer. 

“I have known Paul Reilly of New Direction Partners for many years, since he was CEO of Mail-Well (now Cenveo),” Ebel said. “He is well respected and well connected, and more companies will take his call than will take mine! It was an easy decision for me to engage Paul and his firm to look inside the printing industry for the right strategic acquisition for us. They brought more potential buyers to the table than I could have done on my own.” 

Offices will remain in St. Louis while production moves to Kansas City over the next several months. Ebel will be staying with the combined company. “I’m looking forward to the new challenges and opportunities I will have with Henry Wurst,” he said.

For printing companies looking to either buy or sell, Ebel strongly recommends they seek professional help. “What New Direction Partners brought to the table,” he explained, “was a lot more contacts. Plus, they are very knowledgeable in the industry and have been doing this for a long time. Paul knew what was reasonable, brought a lot of creativity to the discussion, and added a huge benefit because he was that third party that could talk with the buyer in ways that would not have been appropriate for me in light of the fact I would be working for the new owner. I would highly recommend to other companies in a similar situation that they consider working with them. They are experts in working around the various roadblocks and obstacles that inevitably occur in any transaction of this nature, finding ways to keep the parties talking and keep things moving.”