Harte-Hanks Acquires PMSI
Harte-Hanks Inc. has strengthened its presence in the telecommunications, financial services and pharmaceutical industries with the Nov. 13 acquisition of direct marketing services provider Printing Management Systems Inc.The mostly cash transaction is valued at more than $20 million. Exact terms of the deal were not disclosed.
PMSI, Bellmawr, NJ, generated revenues of $12.2 million for 1996 and $17.8 million for 1997. The company serves regional, national and international clients through sales offices in Bellmawr, Chatham, NJ, and Vero Beach, FL, and distribution centers in Bellmawr and Orlando, FL.
Harte-Hanks chief financial officer Jacques Kerrest said PMSI's processing and fulfillment practices were very appealing and would be carried over to other operating units of Harte-Hanks, San Antonio, TX. Contact with new clients was also a factor in the deal. PMSI offers digital, Web and offset printing, telemarketing, database marketing and inventory control.
"We like [PMSI] because of the access to the database marketing and inventory control data of the clients they are serving,'' Kerrest said.
PMSI, led by president Curt Byerley, will continue to operate on its own but will be integrated through the cross-selling of services to clients of both companies. Kerrest described Byerley, who has been recognized as a leading entrepreneur in the Philadelphia area, as "somebody that we hope could run a bigger business for us down the line.''
