Make it three for TSC Inc.

The Ridgeland, MS-headquartered promotional products distributorship, which does business as The Specialty Company (asi/341203), just completed its third acquisition, purchasing St. Louis, MO-based distributor DVL Enterprises, which goes to market as MPGTandem (asi/261648). Financial terms of the deal were not released.

Sam Riden, CEO of TSC, said the acquisition is a win for both firms, with each able to provide offerings/services that augment the other. “Using our collective strengths allows us to better serve both TSC and MPG clients,” Riden stated.

TSC Inc. is retaining MPGTandem employees and locations in Missouri and Illinois. Dave LaRusso, founder of MPG/DVL, will stay aboard too as vice president of special projects.

“It was important we found a partner that would assist us in achieving greater levels of sales growth, continued dedication to our customers and provide economic security for our valuable employees.” LaRusso said. “MPG realized the need to offer greater and improved services to our clients in the areas of third-party logistics, fulfillment services and custom manufacturing. This will not only greatly enhance those capabilities but also allow us to invest resources in all of the services we provide to our clients.”

Riden said MPG’s diverse customer base helped make the distributorship an attractive firm with which to partner. Still, it was the culture and people at MPG that clinched that the acquisition was the right move for TSC. “They are gritty, adaptable and desire to be better tomorrow than today,” Riden said.

Founded in 1991, TSC has a wide geographic footprint. In addition to Mississippi, Illinois and Missouri, the firm also has locations in Texas and Pennsylvania. TSC handles much in house, including warehousing and third-party logistics services, as well as decoration. TSC uses what executives described as proprietary technology to build webstores.

Keen to expand organically and through acquisition, TSC acquired Ice Blue Advertising and Lasting Image Promotional Products in 2021. “Long term, we are committed to using the gifts and talents we’ve been entrusted to build a sustainable company that exists to serve its team, customers and communities for years to come,” Riden said.

Following a COVID-related lull in 2020 and the early half of 2021, merger and acquisition activity in the promo products industry surged in the latter half of 2021 – a pace that continued in 2022. There are strategies – both general and industry-specific – that buyers and sellers of promo businesses can use to ensure successful deals.