Domino stays on acquisition trail: buys German thermal ink jet maker for €15.2m
Domino Printing Sciences plc has bought 95% of the equity of aps Alternative Printing Services GmbH for €15.2m.
APS is based in Herrenberg, Germany and develops and makes innovative thermal inkjet printers, which are sold world-wide through subsidiaries in France and Australia and a network of distributors.
The APS sellers include key managers Werner Schäffer, Xavier Ferbo, Andrew Sharp and Michael Kögler, who owned a total of 85% of the equity. All been retained on long term employment contracts.
MD of Cambridge HQed ink jet specialists Domino Printing Nigel Bond said: "We are delighted to secure the services of the key managers, all of whom have substantial experience in the coding and marking industry.
"APS has developed certain know how and has patented ink technology that we believe will broaden the use and application of thermal ink jet products in Domino's core market areas. APS thermal ink jet products are enabling improved print quality at high speed and on an increasingly wide variety of substrates, in particular for 2D bar codes and other machine readable formats necessary to meet a range of applications including track and trace.
"The addition of these products to the Domino range will enhance and extend our capabilities."
The initial price payable is €15.2m of which €13.9m will be paid at the end of this month. The balance will be paid in February 2010. Deferred consideration is also payable subject to the performance of the business over three years.
Mr Schäffer will remain the sole minority shareholder with a holding in APS of about 5%. He has an option to require Domino to purchase his minority holding at any time during the next seven years for about €0.8m plus a variable element subject to performance of the business.
The value of gross assets of APS at the end of 2007 was €2.5m. Operating profits for 2007 were €0.4m.
Domino said the acquisition was expected to be earnings neutral in the year to 31 October 2008 and earnings enhancing thereafter.
This is the fourth acquisition by Domino Printing in the past year, including: Control Information Technology for €4m in October; Domino's Belgian distributor for €4.3m in November and Photon Energy for €4m in June.
The Group's share price gained 1% this morning after the news was released. It is now valued at around £305m. Domino is one of the solid success stories in Silicon Fen, building on one of the early technologies - ink jets - that was a catalyst of so much that has followed since.
