Domino takes full owership of Graph-Tech

Printing technology firm Domino Printing Sciences has taken total ownership of Graph-Tech, a Swiss maker of digital ink-jet equipment.

Domino, which already had a 19.35% stake in Graph-Tech, is paying CHF 18.63m (about £12.4m) to take 1005t ownership of the Swiss company. An additional consideration of up to CHF 10m (about £6.7m) may be paid, depending on sales targets being met.

Domino originally became a shareholder in Graph-Tech in 1999 and, since that time, Graph-Tech has become an increasingly important partner to Domino. It now supplies Domino's K-Series product range and the new N600i full colour digital label press as well as production line controllers and other digital printing equipment.

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"We have built a profitable digital printing business based on Graph-Tech's technology. The timing of our acquisition of the remaining shares in the business coincides with the successful introduction of our new digital label press products," said Nigel Bond, Group Managing Director of Domino.

"We believe these products combined with planned new developments will provide us with significant opportunity to capitalise on the growth in use of digital printing technology, in both printing and packaging applications," Bond added.

JH