December 2021 - 30

MERGERS & ACQUISTIONS
Two
is Better
Than
One
365 Retail Markets
chief executive sees
promising growth
opportunities with
Avanti merger and
LightSpeed acquisition
By Nick Montano, Editor
T
HE MICRO MARKET INDUSTRY
is poised for unprecedented
growth, according to 365 Retail
Markets founder and chief executive
Joe Hessling. And so is his Troy,
MI-based unattended retail technology
group. The 13-year-old company
recently completed a merger with a
longtime rival, Seattle-based Avanti
Markets, another pioneer in micro
market hardware and systems for
vending operators. At the same time,
365 acquired LightSpeed Automation,
the leading product-picking tool used
in operators' warehouses.
Hessling and Avanti Markets'
founder and chief executive Jim
Brinton announced the merger in September
in a YouTube post recorded at
Avanti's headquarters; but discussions
and planning leading up to it were
ongoing for several years. Brinton said
the merger was a " long time coming. "
The transaction combining the
two micro market leaders cleared the
Federal Trade Commission's merger
review process earlier this year.
" We did a lot of legwork, " Hessling
said. " Since this transaction needed to
go through the FTC, we had lengthy
discussions about it with operators
- and rightfully so, because when
two big players come together in the
same space it has to be good for the
consumer. That's mainly why the FTC
investigates mergers like this. "
During a merger review process,
FTC lawyers and economists investigate
market dynamics to determine if
a proposed merger will harm consumers.
In the case of a 365 and Avanti
merger, the combined entity would
need to ensure a vibrant marketplace
for both operators and their customers.
" We had to get things really
vetted...to make sure we were making
the right moves for our customers, "
Hessling said. " If we didn't, the FTC
would have said no. "
There was plenty of feedback
from operators, Hessling said. One of
the biggest concerns about a merged
365-Avanti entity was the potential
loss of brand variety as operators often
30 Automatic Merchandiser * December 2021
1169332211 | matdesign24 } Getty Images

December 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of December 2021

Editor's Note
Industry News
A True Story
The 2021 Pros to Know Awards
They'll Take it to Go!
Two is Better Than One
K&R Market Fresh
Classifieds
Social Hubs
December 2021 - PCOV1
December 2021 - PCOV2
December 2021 - 1
December 2021 - 2
December 2021 - 3
December 2021 - 4
December 2021 - 5
December 2021 - Editor's Note
December 2021 - 7
December 2021 - Industry News
December 2021 - 9
December 2021 - A True Story
December 2021 - 11
December 2021 - The 2021 Pros to Know Awards
December 2021 - 13
December 2021 - 14
December 2021 - 15
December 2021 - 16
December 2021 - 17
December 2021 - 18
December 2021 - 19
December 2021 - 20
December 2021 - 21
December 2021 - 22
December 2021 - 23
December 2021 - They'll Take it to Go!
December 2021 - 25
December 2021 - 26
December 2021 - 27
December 2021 - 28
December 2021 - 29
December 2021 - Two is Better Than One
December 2021 - 31
December 2021 - 32
December 2021 - 33
December 2021 - 34
December 2021 - 35
December 2021 - K&R Market Fresh
December 2021 - 37
December 2021 - 38
December 2021 - 39
December 2021 - 40
December 2021 - Classifieds
December 2021 - Social Hubs
December 2021 - 43
December 2021 - 44
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