St Ives offloads finance divisions for £4m
Printer trims the fat by selling off loss-making concerns to world's largest financial printer at the end of a frustrating year
St Ives plc has cut its losses and
sold three of its under-performing units in an $8m(£4m) deal to free up cash
needed for debt repayments.
The company, which has endured a tough year after disclosing accounting
errors in the summer and being marked as a prime target for a takeover as
overcapacity in the sector caused a slump in annual revenues, said the cash
would be ‘applied towards the reduction of borrowings.’
Buyer Bowne & Co., a
specialist in the creation, and distribution of regulatory and compliance
documents, bought all the corporate finance-related activities carried on by St
Ives Financial Limited in addition to the whole of the share capital of St Ives
Financial Inc and St Ives Financial Japan KK, the activities of which are solely
corporate finance-related.
St Ives, printer of the Harry Potter
books, The Economist, Accountancy Age and other products such as
Microsoft Xbox game inserts, reported that it would be retaining its Company
Report and Accounts printing business.
In the 52 weeks ending 28 July 2006, the businesses being sold made a loss of
£1.5m and had gross assets of £23.1m at that date, including a goodwill of
£14.4m.
The transaction is expected to be completed in January following completion
of
the consultations required by TUPE regulations in the UK, the company said.
Related links:
Tangent is behind takeover bid for St
Ives
Harry Potter printer may acquire other
companies
Errors found at Harry Potter printer