As a result of the agreement, CVC Capital Partners and Cognetas (formerly Electra Partners), which acquired CPI in a €450m leveraged buyout (LBO) in 2005, will both lose their share capital, while CPI's total financial debt will be slashed from €420m to €123m.

The deal is reminiscent of commercial print giant Polestar's £557m debt-for-equity swap in 2006, which resulted in around a £700m loss for former owner Investcorp, and marks another significant failure of an LBO in the print sector.

CPI's lenders, who will now take direct ownership of the French-headquartered company's share capital, have agreed to provide a €30m revolving credit facility to finance the company's redevelopment plan, as well as access to a €27.5m flexible leasing and factoring line.

CPI UK chief executive Mike Taylor said that the transaction would "dramatically strengthen" the group's position, freeing it of the high debt level of the past five years and giving it "a new lease of life".

He added: "The net effect at group level is that the balance sheet is dramatically improved and of course the group's profit and loss will be significantly improved by the reduced debt burden and the reduced interest charges on that debt.

"There's new money going in, which will mean additional money for capital expenditure right the way across Europe. Clearly, it's excellent news for the company [which] is in far better fighting shape now than it was prior to this agreement."