Three Firms Plan Major Merger
A $2.2 billion deal blends specialty printing and marketing.
By Staff -- graphic arts online, 8/1/2004
NEW YORK CITY–Arcade Marketing, Von Hoffman Corporation, and Jostens, Inc. plan to merge to form a new specialty printing and marketing services group enterprise, co-owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) and DLJ Merchant Banking Partners (DLJMBP), an affiliate of Credit Suisse First Boston's Alternative Capital Division.
The deal, valued at $2.2 billion, combines Arcade, a specialist in multi-sensory marketing and interactive sampling systems produced primarily for the fragrance, cosmetics, and consumer packaged goods industries; Von Hoffmann Corporation, printer of educational textbooks and supplemental materials, which includes its subsidiary Lehigh Press, specialist in book components and direct marketing print services through Lehigh Direct; and Jostens, the market leader in yearbooks, class rings, and graduation products.
Combined, the companies billed more than $1.4 billion during the year ended March 31, 2004. All are currently owned by DLJMBP and are to become part of one newly named enterprise through a recapitalization of Jostens and the acquisitions of Arcade and Von Hoffmann.
As planned, the new group will be led by Marc L. Reisch, who has experience in expanding specialty printing and marketing services businesses. He is currently a senior advisor of KKR and chairman of Yellow Pages Group, Canada's largest telephone directories publisher; previously, Reisch headed the North American division of Quebecor World Inc.
Says Reisch, "KKR and I decided to approach DLJMBP with this creative structure for combining three strong assets into one growth enterprise. Arcade and Von Hoffmann will each have its own management team and business plan to address a distinct customer base."
The merger is expected to close in the fall and is subject to customary closing conditions.
Von Hoffman, based in St. Louis, Mo., has 2,200 employees and operates nine facilities.
At Jostens, Minneapolis, president Michael L. Bailey was named chief executive last month, succeeding Robert C. Buhrmaster, who is retiring. Jostens operates 51 presses in five commercial printing facilities encompassing 639,000 square feet.
