Heidelberg Boosts Consumables, Services with Acquisition of Netherlands-Based PSG

HEIDELBERG, GERMANY—March 3, 2015—Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) signed an agreement with investment company CoBe Capital for Heidelberg to acquire the European Printing Systems Group (PSG) headquartered in the Netherlands. Both parties have agreed that the purchase price will remain confidential. Through this acquisition, Heidelberg is significantly expanding its services and consumables business.

With around 400 employees in the Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) and southern Europe, PSG benefits from established structures in the printing industry and a strong market position. Its partnership with Heidelberg dates back decades. PSG already generates over half of its sales through the sale of services and consumables, which means it meets the target criteria set by Heidelberg for a future sales structure. Heidelberg products account for the majority of the company’s equipment sales. Integrating PSG into Heidelberg will ensure the customer base continues to enjoy the best possible support.

“PSG’s strength in the services and consumables business and its outstanding access to customers are very attractive to us,” said Heidelberg CEO Gerold Linzbach. “Having eliminated unprofitable portfolio items, we’re now starting to actively expand our portfolio in order to return the company to growth,” he added.

The acquisition of PSG is a further milestone for Heidelberg in its strategy of further promoting stable, high-margin services and consumables business. This has involved creating broader market access by taking over dealership networks and gradually expanding the product portfolio by acquiring local manufacturers of consumables. The acquisition of the PSG Group will result in additional sales of around €130 million for the Heidelberg Group, primarily through services and consumables business. The medium-term goal at Heidelberg is for services and consumables to account for over 50 percent of total Group sales. The figure currently stands at around 40 percent.

The acquisition is subject to approval by the antitrust authorities and a consultation process involving a local committee.

Source: Heidelberg.