CVC Capital Partners Acquires BASF Printing Systems, ANI Printing Inks

Funds managed by CVC Capital Partners (CVC), a leading European private equity firm, acquired the printing inks and printing plates operations of BASF, which consist mainly of BASF Drucksysteme GmbH and other printing system companies,  and ANI Printing Inks (ANI) on Sept. 30. The transactions are subject to regulatory approval. The new company will have annual sales in excess of R830 million ($1.03 billion).
    
The sale covers all the BASF printing system facilities and activities, including pigment production at the BASF Colorants & Chemicals Co. Ltd. in Shanghai as well as the production of alkali blue at the BASF Corporation’s plant in Huntington, WV.     
    
The sale by BASF should enable the printing system business to emerge as a leading international supplier in the industry. The first step towards this goal will be the merger with the Swedish printing inks manufacturer ANI Printing Inks (ANI) under the CVC umbrella. Both ANI’s product portfolio and its regional coverage are very complementary to BASF’s printing inks operations. The merged business will be headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. The takeover of ANI as well as the subsequent merger of the two corporations are subject to regulatory approval.
    
“We are making a decisive contribution to consolidation in a fragmented industry by merging BASF Printing Systems and ANI,” Dr. Christian Wildmoser, managing director of CVC, said. “As a result of the acquisition, BASF Printing Systems will become a core business and the merger with ANI will ensure that in the future a leading printing systems business will not only be able to maintain its market position, but expand it further.”
    
BASF has been active in the printing plate business since 1965. In 1970, with the acquisition of K+E, which was headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, BASF started its own printing inks business. BASF Printing Systems was founded in 1997. BASF Printing Systems’ operations have always been largely stand-alone within the BASF Group. In the course of recent years, in particular, printing plate technology has increasingly diverged from the chemicals business.
    
BASF’s Huntington manufacturing site, located at 25th Street and 5th Avenue, has been in operation since 1909 and employs approximately 120 people. The site is the world’s leading producer of alkali blue pigment used in printing inks for applications such as printer toner and consumer products packaging.
    
“With the merger of the two companies, we significantly increase our appeal to clients,” said Dr. Michael Stumpp, head of BASF Printing Systems. “Our position will be strengthened in a highly competitive market and we will be better able to exploit the opportunities that arise in an increasingly globalized market.”
    
“The merger is in line with the consolidation plan which ANI announced back at the end of 2001 in the context of the MBO,” said Peter Koivula, CEO of ANI Printing Inks. “Through this combination of two well known ink suppliers we not only create a leading European company that can service the demanding expectations of our customers, but also a global supplier of complete printing system solutions that can offer better products and services for the graphics and packaging industry
    
BASF Printing Systems employs 2,600 staff members worldwide. In 2003, the Printing Systems segment posted sales in excess of R600 million and reported an operating profit. The ANI group, which is headquartered in Trelleborg/Sweden, employs 960 people worldwide and had sales in 2003 of R231 million.