Donnelley Buys Office Products Manufacturer

CHICAGO—RR Donnelley and Esselte jointly announced that they have signed a definitive agreement by which RR Donnelley will acquire substantially all of the North American operations of Stamford, CT-based Esselte, a privately-owned developer and manufacturer of nationally branded and private label office and stationery products.

Esselte's brands include Ampad writing and envelope products, Boorum & Pease premium bound books, Oxford index cards, and Pendaflex document organization and storage products. The purchase price includes a combination of cash and up to 1 million shares of RR Donnelley common stock, resulting in a total transaction value of $96.5 million.

The acquisition is expected to be both deleveraging and accretive to RR Donnelley's earnings per share within 12 months following the closing of the transaction. The completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval.

"Esselte is an excellent fit with RR Donnelley's office products business, as their well-regarded brands complement our popular TOPS, Adams, Cardinal and Globe-Weis brands," said Thomas Quinlan, RR Donnelley's president and CEO. "We expect to realize significant savings by combining our best practices, complementary products, and manufacturing and distribution capabilities, and we look forward to taking the expanded line of products and respected brands to our combined customer base of retailers, wholesalers, contract stationers and dealers."