Canon to acquire Dutch print firm Océ


16 Nov 2009

Japanese tech giant Canon has today announced it is to acquire European print company Océ in a move aimed at creating a leader in the global printing industry.

Under the terms of the deal, Canon plans to make Océ a consolidated subsidiary. Océ’s management and board fully support Canon’s offer, a joint statement said today.

Canon will offer €8.60 in cash for each Océ share.

Common goal

The two firms said that by working together they aim to achieve “No 1 positions worldwide across the entire printing industry”.

“Through the merger of Canon and Océ, we believe that we will be able to realise clear benefits, not only in the area of R&D, but also in terms of product mix and marketing and are confident that this winning combination will contribute greatly to our goal of becoming the overall No 1 presence in the printing industry,” said Canon’s president and COO Tsuneji Uchida.

“This is the best possible combination in the consolidating global printing industry and will deliver scale in R&D, manufacturing and distribution,” said Océ’s CEO Rokus van Iperen.

“The combined organisation provides us with access to a huge sales network in Asia as well as mutual cross-selling opportunities in Europe and the United States. Our customers will benefit from an outstanding product and services offering and our employees will be offered appealing development opportunities,” he added.

Time frame

The integration of both Canon and Océ businesses will take place over the coming three years.

Océ and Canon said they do not expect any Océ job cuts resulting from the deal, excluding already announced personnel reductions.

Océ, headquartered in the Netherlands, develops, produces, and markets document and industrial-use printing systems as well as high-speed wide-format digital print systems.

It operates in numerous regions and countries, such as Germany, the UK, France and the Netherlands, while generating about 40pc of its revenue in the US.

Article courtesy of businessandleadership.com