Appletons corporate communications manager, Bill Van Den Brandt said the company had been looking to grow in the security products market in Western Europe, and the location of BemroseBooth gave it a good platform.

Both companies would also benefit from shared technologies and product development projects, he said.

The two companies have been in discussions for just over a year and Van Den Brandt said a transition team would be put in place to look at the best way of maximising opportunities across the two businesses.

BemroseBooth chief executive Graham Bennington said the acquisition had secured the long-term future of the business as part of an international group.

Senior management at BemroseBooth, which will remain unaffected by the acquisition, had benefited from their shareholdings in the company following the acquisition, but it declined to reveal any details.

The company evolved from a 28.5m MBO in June 2000, when Bemrose Corporation sold its specialist print division to the management team led by Bennington (PrintWeek, 23 June 2000).

BemroseBooth employs nearly 850 staff at three manufacturing sites in the UK, Derby, Hull and Teeside, and posted sales of 62m and a pre-tax profit of 4.3m in the year to June 2003. Last year it was at number 27 in the PrintWeek Top 500.

An employee-sponsored buyout saw Appleton split from parent Arjo Wiggins Appleton in a 562m ($810m) deal in 2001 (PrintWeek, 23 February 2001).

Story by Andy Scott