Donnelley Busy on Contract Front

CHICAGO—One of the many keys to RR Donnelley's success is its ability to lock up major clients to long-term contracts.

The largest U.S. printer recently tied down a trio of pivotal customers with multi-year accords. Leading the way value-wise: an extension of the agreement to produce all of R.H. Donnelley's current telephone directories. R.H. Donnelley publishes directories under the Sprint Yellow Pages and SBC Yellow Pages brands.

The multi-year deal, which continues a 15-year relationship between the companies, is worth $400 million. Total distribution numbers 28 million annually, serving about 260,000 local and national advertisers in 19 states.

RRD also captured a multi-year accord to print magazines and books for Meredith Corp. The magazine titles include Better Homes and Gardens, Ladies' Home Journal, More and American Baby. The deal, valued at more than $280 million, includes the production of a portion of Meredith's 350 book titles.

The contract continues a 20-year working relationship and includes the addition of new work.

Donnelley netted a $60 million multi-year deal to produce the entire stable of magazine titles by Penton Media, a business-to-business publisher of about 50 titles that report on 12 different industries. The deal extends an existing agreement and includes new work.