Donnelley to Acquire Astron Group

CHICAGO—RR Donnelley has signed a definitive agreement to acquire The Astron Group, a U.K.-based provider of integrated, end-to-end document business process outsourcing (BPO) solutions, for $990 million in cash. The deal, subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close this summer.

The Astron Group provides transactional print and mail services, data and print management, document production and marketing support services. Its BPO expertise meshes with Donnelley's global customer relationships.

"We are pleased to deliver on our commitment to grow our document-based outsourcing business," noted Mark Angelson, CEO of Donnelley. "The Astron Group broadens our diverse printing and service capabilities in Europe, provides us with a strong operations center in Asia, nearly doubles our size in this fast growing, high margin segment, and creates an expanded opportunity to sell to existing and new clients."

The Astron Group employs more than 4,000 people across 70 worldwide locations and anticipates revenue of about $550 million in 2005.