04.16.15
Brother Industries Ltd. has agreed to buy Domino Printing Sciences for 1.03 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) in cash to expand in labels and packaging as the home and office printing market declines. Shareholders of Cambridge, UK-based Domino will receive 915 pence per share, or a 27% premium to the stock’s last closing price in London, the company said in a statement. Domino’s directors plan to recommend that shareholders accept the offer, which would value the company at about 15.4 times earnings before some items. Following the announcement, the shares jumped 31% to 947.5 pence. Brother Industries, based in Nagoya, Japan, is seeking to diversify from its office equipment products which include laser and inkjet printers. The agreement follows Japanese companies Canon Inc., Japan Post Holdings Co. and Itochu Corp., which led more than $28 billion of purchases this year through February, the fastest start on record for Japanese acquirers, according to data compiled by Bloomberg going back to at least 2006.
Brother was attracted by Domino’s label and package printing business. “The markets in which Domino competes are evolving, with the increasing adoption of digital printing technology, and attracting a new breed of competitor with significantly greater scale and financial firepower than Domino,” says Domino Chairman Peter Byrom.
Brother was attracted by Domino’s label and package printing business. “The markets in which Domino competes are evolving, with the increasing adoption of digital printing technology, and attracting a new breed of competitor with significantly greater scale and financial firepower than Domino,” says Domino Chairman Peter Byrom.