Synergie Group director Terry Hannam said that he had been seeking a merger with a print partner for a much needed volume boost prior to the deal, but eventually decided that it was easier to sell White Horse Press Newbury as a going business.
Hannam said: "The White Horse Press business being litho only did not fit into the rest of the business as we had hoped.
"Its customers did not use the digital facilities we had and there were fewer synergies than we had thought."
Meanwhile, Reed, owner of Reebrooks Print Media, was looking to add a litho operation to his group of print companies. When the opportunity arose to take on the Synergie division, he registered White Horse Press Ltd (WHP) with Companies House on 7 December 2012.
Reed was the sole funder of the buyout, according to WHP director Tim Auld, and is a majority shareholder.
The intention was to create a "simple continuation" of the business, according to Hannam. All 21 staff were transferred to the new company at the original site under TUPE arrangements, including Auld who was promoted from his position as general manager at the previous company in the takeover.
Auld said that the WHP decided to retain the name "in homage" to the old company as it had built up a good reputation in its many years of trading.
WHP hit hard times after its director Peter Arnel sold the company to an MBO led by Alan Whitelaw and consultant Mike Godfrey in February 2010.
Only one month later, the company was set to be liquidated after it was left with "insufficient cash to operate", according to Don Woodward, partner at Precision One, which organised the MBO. Synergie Group saved it from closure by taking on its assets and retaining 21 of its 58 staff in April 2010.
Auld said: "Everyone here sees it as a positive move and it gives us the opportunity to be what we believe we can become."
