The union of the two businesses will create 286m-turnover force in transactional print and document management, which now has its sights set on a flotation towards the end of next year "at the earliest".

Combined operating profits for the enlarged group, which now employs 4,100 staff, are estimated at 31m. More than half its staff are based in overseas offices in Austria, France, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and India and Sri Lanka.

The deal, revealed by PrintWeek at the beginning of this month (see earlier story), was funded by a new debt facility provided by Astron's existing banks, led by the Royal Bank of Scotland. "[The debt] doesn't frighten us," said Mitchell. "When we started off [in 1996] we borrowed 5m and that was scary but then you gain momentum and it becomes less scary," he said.

Mitchell added that Astron had strong institutional backing "that comes on the back of doing what we said we'd deliver. The Astron management team has a strong track record of delivery."

The 130m price-tag for Edotech, which in 2003 has sales of 75.5m with earnings of 11.5m, was based on a multiple of earnings plus the fact that 70% of its revenue is under contract until 2010, Mitchell said.

Edotech was formed in May 2000 when chief executive Sam Ferguson led a management buy-out of Barclays' in-house print operation. It then went on to expand rapidly buying Lasercom and Cominformatic on the Continent last year, which led to it being crowned PrintWeek's Printing Company of the Year 2003.

It will now merge with Astron Print and Mail to form a new division called Document Solutions, of which Ferguson will become chief executive.

The acquisition is the fourth large deal Astron has completed in its eight-year history. It was formed in 1996 and in 2000 went on to merge with DMS (Tactica, formerly part of HMSO). In 2002 it acquired IPLS in Ireland and last year its turnover hit 180m following a buy-out of several Hays BPO businesses.

Mitchell said the Edotech deal meant the group now offered services throughout the "document lifecycle" and had a "wider customer balance" spanning telecoms, financial services and utilities. Its largest client is Barclays Bank.

Mitchell's next ambition is to create a 1bn group in five years' time. "We're still on the look-out [for further acquisitions] and I think a float will help us. I see no reason why in 2009 we couldn't be a 1bn business. That's a realistic timeframe. Through a combination of organic growth and acquisition then absolutely - why not?" he said.

Story by Lauretta Roberts