Catching Up With Industry M&A Expert Tom Kastner of GP Ventures

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Every year or so, I like to chat with my friend, M&A expert Tom Kastner of GP Ventures. I know he has been busy the past few years, so I was anxious to find out more about it. He is the one person I know who really has his finger on the pulse of the industry. Tom has always been a great source of information for me and the industry as a whole.

Dan Beaulieu: Tom, good seeing you again. It’s always one of the highlights of my visits to Chicago to have dinner with you. What have you been up to lately?

Tom Kastner: Great to see you too, Dan. I’ve been keeping pretty busy, thanks.

Beaulieu: I shouldn’t assume that everybody knows you. Talk a little about your background and your company.

Kastner: My background is in semiconductor chips and equipment, working for a company called Hakuto, which makes automatic cut-sheet laminators for PCB manufacturing. I’ve been doing M&A for over 25 years, and I started GP Ventures 15 years ago. We are based near Chicago and are focused on M&A advisory services for tech and electronics companies.

Beaulieu: How is your business going? What are your most recent deals?

Kastner: We’ve been very busy. In 2023, we represented Sunstone Circuits in its sale to American Standard Circuits and helped Electronics Manufacturing Training Holding, which owns EPTAC, acquire fellow IPC training company Blackfox Training Institute.

Beaulieu: How is the market in general?

Kastner: The overall M&A market was down in 2023; however, the market for PCB and EMS companies in North America was fairly strong. We have seen a lot of activity in both sectors, and the overall climate for M&A is good, so I think 2024 will be very active.

Beaulieu: I have heard a great deal of interest from companies in Asia trying to buy a company here in the U.S. Is that true? And why does someone from China want a company in the United States?

Kastner: I have seen a lot of interest from both Asia and Europe in making acquisitions in the U.S. The main goal is access to the U.S. market, both for prototypes and small- to medium-run production. With nice tailwinds for the U.S. market, including government support, it is an attractive time to gain access.

Beaulieu: You told me once about something called CFIUS? What is that exactly?

Kastner: CFIUS (pronounced “see fee us”) is the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. The agency reviews investments in the U.S. by foreign companies or their holding companies, whether overseas or in the U.S.

Beaulieu: That sounds like it makes it practically impossible for a Chinese company to buy a tech company here. Is that true?

Kastner: Given the current political climate, I agree that it may be practically impossible for a mainland Chinese company, or a company with significant mainland Chinese ownership, to acquire a U.S. company in the tech space. Acquirers from other Asian countries, as well as Canada, Mexico, and most European countries, should be able to get deals approved; it might just take a few months. 

Beaulieu: For anyone who wants to buy a PCB shop here, is there much of an inventory?

Kastner: While there is a lot of interest from buyers, especially those that are private equity-backed and/or are investing in the future, there are fewer PCB shops available for acquisition every year.

Beaulieu: What are your thoughts on this game of Pacman the past few years? For example, you facilitated the Royal Circuits/Advanced Assembly deal with Summit Interconnect in 2022. Are any more of those deals of that level on the horizon?

Kastner: It depends on the definition of “horizon,” but certainly there should be five to 10 similar deals occurring in the next five to 10 years. 

Beaulieu: Okay, everyone’s favorite question: How many PCB shops are left in the U.S.?

Kastner: I estimate around 100 to 125 shops that produce more than 50% of their boards internally. Many smaller shops are moving toward a brokerage model and/or are getting into assemblies. Frankly, it is hard to track the smaller shops under $5 million in revenue, of which there are about 40 to 50. Meanwhile, the larger shops are getting stronger and investing in equipment and systems, which is good for the industry.

Beaulieu: You work with PCBA companies as well. How is that market?

Kastner: The PCBA sector has many more companies than the PCB sector. My estimate is around 900 shops in the U.S., of which many are private equity-owned shops.

Beaulieu: Is there much M&A activity happening with those guys?

Kastner: Yes, our records show around 15 to 25 deals per year in the PCBA sector in North America. This is numerically higher than in the PCB sector, however, as a percentage of total companies, it is much smaller. We are seeing a lot of M&A activity in the PCBA sector, so I think 2024 will be very busy. 

Beaulieu: What other types of companies do you deal with?

Kastner: Believe it or not, we actually do deals outside the PCB and PCBA sectors. We are working on deals in IT services, IoT design, semiconductor test equipment, and promotional product distribution (our one non-tech deal at the moment).

Beaulieu: What is the process if someone is interested in buying or selling a company and they contact you?

Kastner: An owner or a company advisor can contact me confidentially. I am happy to explain the process as well as give them, after signing an NDA and reviewing financials, an estimate of value, terms, and marketability.

Beaulieu: Why should someone buy or sell at this time?

Kastner: For sellers, I believe most are selling for retirement purposes. For private equity owners, it’s to provide a return for their investors. For buyers, many investors believe there are strong tailwinds for the industry, such as reshoring, robust military budgets, and government support.

Beaulieu: Tom, as we wrap this up, what are your thoughts on the North American market vs. the global market concerning PCB and PCBA companies? What do you see in the next five years?

Kastner: Based on the investor and government support for the industries, I think the U.S. will gain market share vs. the global market at least for the next five years. I do not see us regaining anywhere near a majority of the market, however, even a 5% gain would be a huge boost to these strategically critical industries.

Beaulieu: Thanks for talking and thanks for dinner. It was great.

Kastner: Thank you, Dan.