Vancouver, BC January 22, 2003 Imaging technology company Creo has gained control of a majority of shares in Printcafe, a provider of software solutions for the printing industry supply chain.
Vancouver-based Creo announced today that it has entered into agreements to acquire approximately 2.6 million shares of Pittsburgh-based Printcafe Software common stock from other Printcafe shareholders at a purchase price of $1.30 per share.
Upon completion of this purchase, Creo's ownership interest in Printcafe will increase to approximately 55 percent from its current level of approximately 30 percent.
Creo has also asked the Printcafe board of directors to consider a proposal for Creo to acquire all outstanding Printcafe common shares not owned by Creo at a purchase price of $1.30 per share.
Printcafe's shares have been hovering below $1.50 since October, and the stock closed at $1.20 on Tuesday. The company went public in June (see related story).
Creo, which reported revenues of $540 million in its 2002 fiscal year, provides solutions to the graphic arts industry, including image-capture systems, inkjet proofers, scanning systems and workflow management software.
In a statement, Amos Michelson, Creo CEO, said, "We believe our proposal is in the best interests of Printcafe's stockholders, providing them with a premium to current market prices and liquidity for their shares at a time when the market prospects for Printcafe's stock are uncertain."
Michelson went on to suggest that Creo's acquisition of the provider would provide opportunities to improve Printcafe's business by integrating it fully into Creo's worldwide operations and obtaining cost savings and synergies that are not available to Printcafe as an independent public company.
