Blockbuster Trade for Quad, Transcontinental

Well, last month a pair of printing companies beat the nonexistent deadline for trading away facilities. Two of the industry's heavy hitters, Quad/Graphics Inc. and Montreal-based Transcontinental Inc., made a rare swap that is expected to benefit both organizations. Quad/Graphics will acquire Transcontinental's Mexican operations and sell its Canadian operations to Transcontinental, with the exception of Quad/Graphics' Vancouver, British Columbia, facility. As part of the deal, Quad also receives a portion of Transcon's Canadian book printing business that is produced for U.S. export.