Royal Adhesives & Sealants Acquires Craig Adhesives & Coatings from Vertis

SOUTH BEND, IN/BALTIMORE—Nov. 30, 2011—Royal Adhesives & Sealants and Vertis Communications announced that Royal will acquire substantially all of the assets of Vertis’ Webcraft Chemicals subsidiary, which operates under the name Craig Adhesives & Coatings.

Based in Newark, NJ, Craig Adhesives & Coatings is a supplier of UV-cured and water-based adhesives and coatings to the printing and graphic arts markets. The acquisition builds on Royal’s strong platform of leading adhesives, sealants and coatings and allows clients of both companies to benefit from an expanded range of customized and proprietary solutions. For Vertis, the sale provides additional opportunities to pay down debt and invest in the cross-media solutions that will drive its continued growth.

“We are excited to add Craig’s market-leading ultraviolet and water based adhesives and coatings products to our growing platform, and welcome Craig’s employees and clients to the Royal family,” said Ted Clark, CEO of Royal. “As a leading producer of high-performance adhesives, sealants and coatings, we look forward to working with the Craig team to advance our combined product portfolio and expand our presence in the packaging and graphic arts market.”

John Televantos, a partner at Arsenal Capital, added, “Craig has a long history of innovation in the fast growing market for ultraviolet light cured adhesives and coatings and is providing great solutions and service to the packaging, printing and lamination markets. The acquisition of Craig and merger with Royal represents an important milestone in our strategy to further build a leading adhesives, sealants and coatings business offering customized and proprietary solutions.”

Vertis President and CEO Gerald Sokol, Jr. stated, “Vertis is intensely focused on growing our cross-media solutions and on ensuring that each business within this strategy is well-positioned to gain share in its market. After careful consideration, we recognized that Craig clients and employees would realize substantial benefit as part of a larger organization that focuses on the adhesives and sealants industry. We have been very impressed with the commitment and expertise of the Royal team and are confident that Craig will be well positioned for growth under this new ownership.”

The transaction includes a long-term supply agreement between Royal and Vertis, which allows Vertis continued access to Craig’s specialized products. Vertis will continue to deliver the innovative solutions and high-quality services its clients expect without disruption.

About Craig Adhesives & Coatings
Craig Adhesives & Coatings is a premier supplier of adhesives and coatings to the printing and graphic arts industries. For more than 30 years, the company has continued to innovate its products to solve clients’ most pressing challenges, including topical clarity and no-edge curling for a no-label look, extreme resistance to abrasive wear, very high slip without contamination of adhesives, heat and water-vapor resistance, high-impact labels, and selective adhesive deadening. The company also has a full-line of off-the-shelf products, includes many products that are based on exclusive, best-of-class solutions it developed in-house.

About Royal Adhesives & Sealants
Royal Adhesives & Sealants is a leading producer of proprietary, high-performance adhesives, sealants, coatings and polymers. Headquartered in South Bend, Indiana, Royal offers a broad range of specialty formulated products designed to solve complex bonding, laminating and sealing supplications across a diverse range of markets, including aerospace and defense, construction, specialty packaging, automotive and industrial. The company offers a broad spectrum of customized thermosetting epoxy and urethane, solvent-based and water-based technologies to meet the most demanding adhesive and sealant applications.

About Vertis
Vertis Communications is a results-driven marketing communications company that delivers inventive advertising, direct marketing and interactive solutions to prominent brands across North America. Our deep industry knowledge and extensive range of offerings—including integrated data solutions, digital program management systems, creative services, world-class print and mail production, logistics, out-of-home and business process outsourcing—are used to deliver superior program performance that drives bottom line results for our clients. With 100 strategically positioned locations and more than 5,000 dedicated professionals, we deliver impeccable quality and fast turn-around to any market.

Source: Royal.