Citronix's equipment is used for applying identifying marks, sell-by dates and batch codes. It primarily operates in the food and beverage industries but its products also have wider applications. The four-year-old company is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.

The deal was announced this afternoon (11 July).

Domino group managing director Nigel Bond said: "Citronix has successfully established a position in the market for continuous ink-jet  products and demonstrating strong growth. The Citronix brand will be retained and the business will continue to operate separately from Domino. Citronix was profitable in 2004, its first full year of trading, and we expect the acquisition to be earnings accretive from 2006."

Domino paid 5.7m in cash and has taken on 114,000 in debt. A deferred consideration of up to a further 11.4m is payable over a five year period from January 2006, subject to Citronix meeting certain profit targets.

Story by Jo Francis