WWF, a subsidiary of US-based Gould Paper, purchased 100% of the stock of Salehurst Group from London-based private equity firm Bridgepoint Capital (PrintWeek, 22 January).

Gould Paper chairman and president Harry Gould Jr said he planned to bring the two businesses under one roof when WWF International UK moved into new headquarters in Leatherhead.

He anticipated there would be job losses among those not willing to commute and some jobs would also be lost in the areas of accounts and credit control. But the move would not affect sales or customer service staff.

The intention would be to continue expanding the business which could lead to additional staff being added in the coming months, he said.

Sales of the combined business will now be in excess of 80m making it one of the largest specialist distributors to the publishing and print markets in the UK. For the time being both businesses will retain their own names.

Gould said he had met with most of Salehursts customers, including Emap, and the overall reaction had been favourable. Gould said he was confident a substantial percentage if not all of the Emap business would come with the Salehurst acquisition.

The sale of the Salehurst Group includes its wholly owned subsidiaries of UK independent paper merchant Salehurst, and Gallium EURL, which operates as a paper management provider in France.

Story by Andy Scott