You may have heard that Kristi Dannelley sold Little Rock printing company Magna IV to Bluestem Integrated LLC of Tulsa over the holidays, but did you know she’s returning to her accounting roots and has hung out a shingle for the new firm she owns, GreenPoint CFO?
Dannelley issued a Dec. 23 news release announcing Magna IV’s acquisition by Bluestem, led by founder and President Hal Salisbury. Dannelley took full ownership of Magna IV almost a year ago, buying out partner Kent Middleton, whose parents, Gary and Pat, founded the company in 1975. “Kent and I bought his parents out in 2015,” Dannelley told Arkansas Business. Gary Middleton died in 2017.
This time, Dannelley said, she wasn’t looking for a deal. “But as it evolved it made a lot of sense,” she told Whispers last week, adding that she’ll work another six months at Magna IV to ease the transition. Salisbury plans to maintain Magna IV’s employees and operations at 2401 Commercial Lane in Little Rock. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Magna IV had 62 employees.
The merger will let Magna IV, which will keep its name, expand its digital, label and wide-format printing abilities. Bluestem will gain offset printing capacity and Magna IV’s wealth of experience in direct-mail marketing.
“They’re bringing in a half-size variable data digital press, and there are very few of them in the country,” said Dannelley, whose titles at Magna IV included CEO. Bluestem will also gain Magna IV clients like the Dave & Buster’s chain, Gold’s Gym, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the University of Arkansas.
The terms of the Magna IV sale weren’t disclosed. “I can’t really talk about that,” Dannelley said.
Salisbury said in a statement that Bluestem, a fully digital printing operation, shares a similar mission with Magna IV “to simplify the print and marketing process for our clients. We’re excited to grow our presence in the Mid-South with a proven industry leader.”
Dannelley, a CPA who spent a year with Frost PLLC before joining the Middletons at Magna IV in 1998, said she started some “fractional CFO consulting work” during the pandemic, and is excited to return to that after the transition. “A fractional CFO is a part-time CFO for companies that don’t have a big enough budget to pay a full-time CFO or companies that don’t yet require the services of a full-time CFO,” she said. “GreenPoint CFO is ready to help in those kinds of situations.”
The new company already has its website up, greenpointcfo.com, and eventually plans to open an office near Dannelley’s home in Benton, she said.
