The takeover was agreed last November, creating a single printing company with around 50,000 employees worldwide, and has now been approved by regulatory authorities.

The combined company, which retains the RR Donnelley name, has a board of 15 directors eight from RR Donnelley and seven from Moore Wallace.

Under the agreement Donnelley has assumed around 494m of Moore Wallaces debt. It has announced that it intends to raise 549m through issuing unsecured shares in five- and 10-year tranches.

RR Donnelley chief executive Mark Angelson said that the company would offer the worlds leading corporations an unparalleled suite of print products.

There will be virtually no printing solution a company could require that we cannot meet by drawing on our exceptional resources, said Angelson.