So what's up with j2? I was perusing their quarterly report (2013 - Q1) and see their revenues are solid at $94M with an EBITDA of $45M and all seems good. I got to wondering about what might be next for j2 Global on the M&A front. Seems to me they're not done buying just yet. I've heard rumors that maybe they feel that the gravy train
has run dry on fax, and now it's time for something new. I think fax can still
be a play for them however, just as long as they acquire the right company. If they buy something other than fax, they may wish to consider complementary technologies like electronic signatures as one of many examples. I think there are some ideal targets out there j2 may wish to consider if they want to expand their fax business.
In short - here's my two cents:
- If they buy more fax: Go "upstream", not down. j2 should find a cloud messaging company that already meets the needs of the larger, integrated corporate enterprise. The growth is with outbound production fax and inbound fax capture to workflow and larger organizations require secure and integrated fax solutions.
- I recommend: That they steer clear of acquiring another online fax messaging company that simply sells, “more of the same” as eFax or any of the other numerous brands of fax they own. Most of them are targeted at SOHO/SMB customer segments and that's not where the significant opportunities lie - at least for j2.
- If they buy “something else”: Diversify into “beyond fax” technologies that are complementary to fax: Electronic signatures, digital signatures, Fax ATAs, secure email, and secure file transfer come to mind. There are others of course.
My complete commentary is below.
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I got to wondering if j2 Global Services may be sniffing around for another acquisition these days. I sense they have momentum right now. If my hunch is right all I can wonder about is WHAT exactly are they going to buy? More Fax maybe? Maybe they'll consider investing in “adjacent” technologies that may complement fax (electronic signatures is a good example). A third likely possibility is they'll acquire something that bolsters one of their other main product lines, much like the recent acquisition of Backup-Connect.
