VENTURA, CA Janurary, 3, 2001 Kinko's, Inc. recently announced that it has acquired kinkos.com for an undisclosed price. The merger is said to complete the integration of Kinko's more than 1,100 digitally connected branches with kinkos.com and its Web-based print and ship service.
Kinkos.com was formed in March last year as a joint venture between Kinko's and Liveprint.com, an online printing and marketing service. Together, they pooled approximately $40 million from their shareholders to capitalize the venture. Kinko's, which held a majority stake in kinkos.com, shared ownership of the company with investors including Chase Capital Partners; Clayton, Dubliner, & Rice; and Flatiron Partners.
The merger should not effect kinkos.com's products and services and the change is expected to be transparent to consumers. kinkos.com will be integrated into all aspects of the company including marketing, merchandising, new product development, strategic partner relationships and business development, said Joe Hardin, president and CEO of Kinko's, Inc.
kinkos.com will experience some obvious workforce changes, however. The integration of kinkos.com products and services will result in the closing of the kinkos.com office in Alexandria, Virginia, and will impact up to 70 positions over the course of the first quarter 2001. Some key employees will be offered the opportunity to relocate and take positions at Kinko's headquarters in Ventura, California. All departing co-workers will receive competitive severance packages and outplacement support. Rick Steele, CEO of kinkos.com will stay on with the combined company through the transition period to help ensure a smooth integration.
We are committed to the ongoing expansion of the Kinko's brand in our branches and on the Internet to effectively serve our customers both online and offline, Hardin added. The merger will enable us to fully integrate kinkos.com and to leverage all our resources to extend and enhance our Web-based document solution services.
