The rampant pace of early-year acquisitions in the promotional products industry continued Monday when Somerville, MA-headquartered Grossman Marketing Group (asi/215205) announced the acquisition of Premier Marketing Group (asi/298506). Moving forward, PMG will continue operating out of its Manchester, ME, location, but will do so under Grossman’s ASI number as “Premier Marketing Group, a Division of Grossman Marketing Group.” Financial terms of the deal were private.

“PMG’s success and expertise in health and other business-related services is a perfect fit for us and will complement our existing products and services,” said Ben Grossman, co-president of Grossman Marketing Group. He said that PMG’s clients include Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Community Health Centers, USDA health and nutrition programs throughout the country, and a number of universities and financial services firms.

PMG Founder Mike Whitman said he is thrilled that his company, started in 1995, is joining forces with Grossman Marketing Group – a firm he characterized as “prestigious, well-established, growth-oriented.” Whitman said his client base, product line and service-driven approach to customer relations will “dovetail nicely” with Grossman Marketing. Whitman will continue managing the PMG team/division.

The purchase of PMG marks Grossman Marketing Group’s third acquisition in recent years. Three years ago, the distributorship acquired ASAP, a Norwalk, CT-based promotional products firm. Just over a year ago, Grossman Marketing Group purchased Fleet Business Products of East Hartford, CT. In addition to Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maine, Grossman Marketing Group has operations in Rhode Island, New York and Washington, D.C. The distributorship’s client list includes household names like the Boston Bruins, Boston Celtics, Ivy League universities such as Columbia and Harvard, Zipcar, athenahealth, John Hancock and the International Academy of Arts and Sciences (Emmy Awards). Grossman reported a year-over-year sales increase of 9% in 2016.

So far, 2017 has been a busy year for mergers and acquisitions in the advertising specialty industry. At least 10 M&A deals were announced through January, outpacing the same period from the prior year.

An 11th deal followed last week when Top 40 distributor HALO Branded Solutions (asi/356000) acquired Seattle-based Catalyst Marketing Inc. (asi/159067). Technology enhancements, product safety requirements and increased need for efficiency to deliver safe products as cost-effectively as possible are pressuring industry companies to seek merger partners, HALO CEO Marc Simon has said. Similarly, the beneficial economies of scale that strategic mergers and acquisitions present are among the reasons more industry companies are engaging in deals.