RR Donnelley to acquire Bowne for $481 million

RR Donnelley, one of the world's largest commercial printer, has agreed to acquire Bowne & Co., a shareholder and marketing communications services company, for about $481 million in cash.

Bowne, headquartered in New York, with 2009 revenues of approximately $675 million and having operations in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia, is a digital one-to-one printing services provider for healthcare, transactional communications, financial services, marketing communications and other applications.

With 2,800 employees in 50 offices globally, Bowne provides critical capital markets communications with speed and accuracy. Compliance professionals turn to Bowne to prepare and file regulatory and shareholder communications online and in print, while investment managers and third party fund administrators rely on Bowne's integrated solutions to streamline their document processes and produce high quality communications for their shareholders.

The all-cash deal agreed upon by the boards of both companies, values the 230 year-old Bowne & Co at approximately $481 million, or $11.50 per share.

Chicago, Illinois -based RR Donnelley said that the merger will expand and enhance the range of services it offers to its customers, while also creating an opportunity for it to provide its comprehensive line of products to Bowne's clients.

"Bowne is an exceptional fit with RR Donnelley," said Thomas Quinlan III, RR Donnelley's president and CEO. "This combination satisfies all of the strategic imperatives that we evaluate as we consider acquisitions. It will expand our depth with additional talented and customer-focused employees, add new and enhanced customer relationships, extend our product and service offering in areas in which our customers have demonstrated firm demand and create the possibility to take advantage of significant synergies," he added.