UPFRONT
FedEx Buys Kinko's Franchise
MEMPHIS, TN—FedEx Corp. and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) have announced an agreement for FedEx to acquire Kinko's for $2.4 billion in cash. Kinko's operates approximately 1,200 stores worldwide, generating annual sales of about $2 billion. Funds managed by CD&R, a private equity investment firm, currently owns about 75 percent of Kinko's outstanding shares. Once the transaction is completed, all Kinko's locations will offer new or expanded FedEx shipping options to small- to medium-size businesses and to large corporate customers. FedEx has been Kinko's exclusive shipping provider since 1988.
Scitex Selling Digital Printing
TEL AVIV, ISRAEL—Scitex Corp. and Eastman Kodak have signed a definitive agreement that sees Kodak acquire the assets and business of Scitex Digital Printing (SDP) for $250 million in cash. As part of the agreement, Scitex will retain $14 million of SDP's expected $22 million cash balance at closing, raising the total to $262 million. Scitex intends to make a significant cash distribution to its shareholders following the closing, with terms of the dispersement hinging upon corporate, legal and other variables.
Quebecor, Daily News Renew
MONTREAL—Quebecor World has reached an agreement on a new three-year contract to print the Sunday TV supplement, New York Vue, for the New York Daily News. This agreement is an extension of a five-year relationship between Quebecor World and the Daily News. In addition to New York Vue, Quebecor World will also print other specialized Sunday supplements for the Daily News. Quebecor will print more than one million copies of the New York Vue, serving three million readers every Sunday.
EFI Announces Repurchase Plan
FOSTER CITY, CA—Digital imaging and print management solutions provider Electronics for Imaging (EFI) announced a stock repurchase plan that will see it acquire up to $50 million in common shares over the next 12 months. The purpose is to mitigate the dilution from the issuance of shares under the company's employee stock option plans and to offset the approximately 200,000 shares issued in the Printcafe acquisition.
Von Hoffmann Reports Earnings
ST. LOUIS—Von Hoffmann Corp. announced third quarter results of $107.2 million in net sales for the period ending Sept. 30, 2003, compared to the prior year's third quarter of $108.1 million. Net loss for the third quarter of 2003 was $0.4 million compared to $0.2 million net income in the third quarter of 2002.
Crosetto Retires from Bowne
NEW YORK—Carl J. Crosetto, president of Bowne & Co., has retired from the company. Crosetto, who worked at Bowne for 31 years, will remain as a consultant and continue to serve on its board of directors. He joined the financial printer in 1973 as a sales representative.
Ripon Orders Stacked ROTOMAN
RIPON, WI—Ripon Community Printers has placed an order for a two-web 16- and 32-page MAN Roland ROTOMAN eight-unit press that will operate in a stacked configuration. The press is expected to be running this spring.
Technotrans to Acquire Baldwin
SASSENBERG, GERMANY—Technotrans AG announced it has signed a letter of intent to acquire Baldwin Technology for $2.50 per share. The one-step merger will see Technotrans acquire all outstanding shares of Baldwin Class A and Class B common stock.
Schawk Buys Strategy Firm
CHICAGO—Color graphic services specialist Schawk Inc. announced it has completed its acquisition of Blue Mint Associates, a San Francisco-based brand strategy and design firm that serves the retailer and consumer sectors. Blue Mint now becomes part of the Anthem Group, an independent business unit of Schawk that specializes in, among other things, strategic brand consulting and design.
Magazine Ad Revenues Rise
NEW YORK—Magazine advertising revenues for October 2003 rose 6.6 percent compared to October 2002, according to the Publishers Information Bureau. Ad pages for the month were down 3.2 percent from last year. Year-to-date advertising revenues increased 8.7 percent and ad pages were down 0.2 percent from 2002.
Sir Speedy Buys 2nd NexPress
MISSION VIEJO, CA—On-demand printing franchisor Sir Speedy has acquired a Heidelberg NexPress 2100 digital color production press for its R&D facility, Digital Quickcolor. It is the second NexPress 2100 installed in the Sir Speedy network.
Creo Finalizes Acquisition
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA—Creo Inc. has completed the acquisition of an African printing plate production facility from First Graphics for (U.S.)$11.34 million. As part of the acquisition, Creo has received more than 10 acres of land and approximately 151,000 square feet in manufacturing and storage facilities located in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. The facility employs about 150.
Graphic Services Adds Presses
ROCKLAND, MA—A pair of presses has been installed at Graphic Services, based here. The units include a six-color G-14 Goss Baker-Perkins web and a 12-color Akiyama J-print sheetfed press. The G-14, with automatic cutoff and density controls, now allows the printer to run 48-page signatures for the one- and two-color book market.
Donnelley Unveils IMS for Books
CHICAGO—RR Donnelley has rolled out its Inventory Management Solution (IMS) for the manufacture of soft cover books on an as-needed basis, which reduces publishers' inventory costs. The IMS, developed with Donnelley by Muller Martini, MBO, Nipson, Shuttleworth and Hunkeler, produces short runs of perfect bound books with fast changeovers.
