Markem to Be Acquired by Dover Corporation

Dover Corporation announced that its Dover Technologies subsidiary has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Markem Corporation. The deal is expected to close in late September 2006.

With annualized sales of about $290 million, Markem will report to Dover Technologies and operate as an independent company in conjunction with DTI’s Product Identification Group, which would then have annualized revenue over $800 million.

“We are excited to have the opportunity to acquire Markem, which expands our strategically important product identification platform,” said Ronald L. Hoffman, president and CEO of Dover. “Markem brings a strong brand, excellent complementary products and a great management team to continue to develop new products and lead this business going forward. We believe that with Markem, we have a truly world class product identification platform which strengthens our technological leadership and offers us significant opportunities for further growth.”

“Markem is a clear leader in the Product ID space with a variety of advanced technology solutions for product marking,” Dave Van Loan, president of Dover Technologies, said. Markem management has a history of product innovation that includes recently released hardware and software solutions to support the emerging Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) market with traceability solutions. We believe the Markem team will continue to find new opportunities to leverage its technology into other new applications, further strengthening and diversifying the offerings of Dover’s Product ID group.”

“Once we began reviewing our possible strategic alternatives, Dover clearly stood apart from the rest,” said Jeffrey B. Miller, president of Markem. “It was evident that Markem would integrate well with Dover from a business perspective. It was equally important that Dover encourages and supports Markem in maintaining its core values and collaborative culture as well as our commitment to community.”

“This is an exciting opportunity for Markem,” said Markem president James Putnam. “With our industry undergoing significant changes, it became clear that we needed to capitalize on our marketplace strength and pursue a strategy to best position Markem for the future.”

Markem, a privately-held business, is headquartered in Keene, NH, and employs more than 1,200 people worldwide. As part of the agreement, Markem will retain its company name and remain at its Keene location. Dover Corporation believes in a decentralized management philosophy. Markem’s current operational management will continue to run the company.

“Markem has been in the Putnam family for almost 100 years. Throughout this process, the management has focused on the future of Markem and its employees,” said Markem chairman Thomas P. Putnam. “Part of the attractiveness of this agreement is the ability to strengthen the company for the long-term, and better secure a future for Markem employees in Keene and throughout the world.”