Well, well well what an intriguing time it is in the world of acquisitions.

Ten days ago St Ives announced a deal worth up to ?17.5m as it bought yet another marketing services business, taking the potential total bill for its expansion into non-print services up to an eye-popping ?80m.

Meanwhile, Chime Communications, "the leading marketing services group" announced earlier this week that it was buying into a print production company, gasp, with the acquisition of McKenzie Clark for a rather more modest maximum of ?4m.

It's ironic that St Ives chief Patrick Martell bemoaned a lack of London 2012 print uplift this week, because one of the reasons I'm super-interested in the Chime/McKenzie Clark deal is the Olympic aspect to it all.

Here's a known known: Icon, a Chime subsidiary that specialises in sports marketing, has won a 2012 contract from LOCOG, that will entail, and I quote:  "Handling on behalf of LOCOG all event look, branding and wayfinding across all Olympic venues. Also appointed to do the same for the GLA across London and all other UK cities involved in Olympic branding programmes."

That's going to be quite a chunk of large-format printing and installation, don't you think?

The word on the street a while back was that McKenzie Clark had won an Olympics contract of this ilk, but as with so many things 2012-related it involves a frustrating vow of secrecy from all involved.

So, nothing official, but the McKenzie Clark team has been working with Icon for the past year on "a major sporting event".

It doesn't take much of a leap to put two and two together and get five Olympic rings when it comes to guessing what that might be.

Whether McKenzie Clark can print (and install) it all itself I don't know. Have put a question in to Chime asking if all of the printing related to its 2012 branding contract will be produced in the UK.

I do hope so. If not, expect the sort of ticket-based furore that will require all of Chime chairman Lord Bell's legendary PR skills.