Bong expands on UK direct mail-market

Kristianstad 2006-03-13

Bong has signed an agreement to acquire 50% of Nova Envelopes Ltd, an established UK envelope printer focused on the growing UK direct mail-market. Nova Envelopes is located in Leighton Buzzard, slightly north of London and only 15 miles from Bong’s factory and distribution centre in Milton Keynes.

Nova Envelopes has 13 employees and prints approximately 100 million envelopes annually. The turnover last year amounted to around GBP 2 million.

The price for 50% of the company, which is debt free, is GBP 519,000.

“The direct mail-market is moving more and more towards individualised marketing, which makes it important for us to be able to supply our customers with printed envelopes also in short series and with very quick turnaround times. So far, we have lacked the necessary expertise to develop this within our own UK organisation, but an ownership share of Nova will position us directly into this highly interesting segment of the market”, says Bong’s President & CEO, Anders Davidsson.

Managing Director and owner of Nova Envelopes, Robert Green, will continue to manage and develop the company in co-operation with Bong. The agreement also gives Bong an option to buy the remaining 50% in 5 years.

“This type of business requires a high degree of flexibility and close dialogue with your customers and is therefore best run by an entrepreneur in a separate organisation”, Anders Davidsson continues. “Considering that, a 50/50-ownership model feels like a good starting point for Nova’s future development and, at the same time, it enables us to provide a more comprehensive service offering to UK customers.”

The transaction will be finalised within some weeks and is estimated to have a positive effect on Bong’s earnings from the second quarter 2006. The acquisition is financed entirely by utilising already existing and approved credit facilities.

For additional information, please contact Anders Davidsson, President and CEO of Bong Ljungdahl AB. Telephone (switchboard) +46 (0)44 20 70 00, (direct) +46 (0)44 20 70 80, (mobile) +46 (0)70 545 70 80.

Bong is one of Europe’s leading envelope companies. The Group has an annual turnover of approximately SEK 2 billion, some 1,400 employees and an annual manufacturing capacity of around 18 billion envelopes at its factories in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Poland, Germany, Belgium, the UK, Ireland and Russia.
Bong has a very strong market position, particularly in Northern Europe, and conducts sales and marketing in twelve European countries through its own sales organisations. The Group sees attractive opportunities for further expansion and development. Bong is a publicly listed company and its shares are quoted on the O list of the Stockholm Stock Exchange.

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