Donnelley Caps Acquisition Trilogy

CHICAGO—If RR Donnelley were a spouse, its other half would seize all credit cards and cut them in half.

The venerable Windy City printer is a little lighter in the wallet following a string of acquisitions that started with Banta Corp. in late October, followed by Perry Judd’s shortly before Christmas, and capped off with Tuesday’s announced pickup of Von Hoffmann from Visant Corp.

In the latest deal, Donnelley is handing over $412.5 million in cash for Von Hoffmann, which specializes in books and other products for the education, trade and business-to-business catalog segments. Von Hoffmann was an independent printer prior to being rolled up in late 2004 by Visant, which brought together such names as Arcade Marketing, which specializes in cosmetic product sampling, and scholarly memorabilia stalwart Jostens.

Von Hoffmann has production facilities in Jefferson City and Owensville, MO, and Eldridge, IA. A prepress and creative services branch is located in Arlington Heights, IL.

Pending regulatory approval and traditional closing conditions, the deal is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter.