Flexotecnica builds a range of central-cylinder flexo presses for printing on various flexible packaging materials at its Tavazzano facility near Milan, although it has completely outsourced parts manufacturing.

The Italian firm employs around 100 staff and sells its CIC flexo presses mainly into Europe and in "some overseas markets".

KBA said that the acquisition would allow it to expand on its strong position in the folding carton market and grow into the printed flexible packaging segement, especially films, using its own international organisation.

The acquisition marks KBA's continued expansion into growth markets, following the launch of its first digital press, the KBA RotaJet, and its Varius 80 web offset press for short run flexible packaging jobs at Drupa 2012.

The German press manufacturer said that "healthy finances" had made such investments possible. The acquisition has already been approved by the KBA supervisory board and the final takeover is subject to approval by the relevant antitrust authorities.