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News | Bertelsmann Marketing Services | Hamburg/Berlin, 10/05/2015

Be Printers To Completely Take Over Prinovis

  • Be Printers, a division of Bertelsmann, will control 100 percent of the printing group Prinovis
  • CEO of Be Printers Bertram Stausberg thanks former co-partner Axel Springer for “more than ten years of successful partnership”

The Bertelsmann division Be Printers will be taking over the remaining 25.1-percent share in the printing group Prinovis from its previous co-partner, Axel Springer. The acquisition is still pending approval from the European antitrust authorities. The complete takeover of the company will simplify corporate structures. Bertram Stausberg, CEO of Be Printers and Prinovis, says, “I would like to extend a hearty thank you to Axel Springer for more than ten years of their excellent and successful partnership as a Prinovis shareholder. Together we have matched the challenges posed by the market and positioned the company well for the future.”

Prinovis is one of Europe’s largest printing companies. Headquartered in Hamburg, it operates four printing presses in Ahrensburg, Dresden, Nuremberg and Liverpool. Last year employees printed some 950,000 tons of paper – enough to fully load 34,000 trucks with magazines and catalogues.

Dr. Andreas Wiele, President Marketing and Classified Ad Models at Axel Springer SE and now former representative on the Prinovis Board, says, “I’d like to thank Prinovis’ employees and management for their excellent and committed work, and Bertelsmann for their reliable partnership for all these years. In 2005, we established Europe’s largest rotogravure printing company together, and have been successfully managing it ever since. Although we are now relinquishing our majority share, we will continue our relationship with the company as a customer.”

Bertram Stausberg added, “This new shareholder structure will not change anything for Prinovis employees or customers. Regardless of this transaction, Be Printers and Axel Springer will continue to work together in partnership.”

The partners have agreed not to disclose any further details on the transaction.

About Be Printers
Be Printers operates gravure and offset printing plants in Germany and the UK (Prinovis) as well as the U.S. (America). Approximately 3,500 employees at nine locations in three countries on two continents are hard at work every day to provide their clients with the best product quality. The group covers the entire range of technology in the modern printing industry. In addition to high-volume illustration and book printing (gravure, offset), Be Printers companies also offer sheet-fed offset printing services and customisable products. They produce magazines, catalogues, brochures and books of the highest quality for their clients, and also provide digital and e-publishing services. Be Printers is a division of Bertelsmann, the media, services and education company.