Business Weekly - Cambridge, UK

David Mitchell, Astron’s chief executive, is reportedly set to land a £33m windfall from the sale of the private business. He led a management buy-out of the company nine years ago and holds a 6.4 per cent stake.

The cash deal will almost double Chicago-based Donnelley’s contract printing business and will increase its operations in Europe and Asia.

Astron Group, which employs more than 4,000 people in 70 locations worldwide, will generate about $550 million in 2005 revenue, Donnelley said.

Donnelley, the largest printing company in North America, said the acquisition of Astron, a business outsourcing specialist, will add "slightly" to its earnings within a year of the transaction.

Donnelley chief executive, Mark A. Angelson, said the Astron Group "broadens our diverse printing and service capabilities in Europe, provides us with a strong operations center in Asia, nearly doubles our size in this fast-growing, high-margin segment and creates an expanded opportunity to sell to existing and new clients."

The agreement is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close this summer.

Donnelley shares rose 23 cents to $33.12 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Its shares have traded in a range of $28.37 and $35.37.

Astron had been presumed to be heading for an IPO by the end of this year although Mitchell told Business Weekly, following his company’s success in our Awards in February, that this was far from a foregone conclusion.

Astron has a vast portfolio. It prints British Airway’s flight tickets, handles millions of UK passport applications and manages Centrica’s call centres and billing systems. It has built a truly global business in recent years through organic growth and shrewd acquisitions.

After Business Weekly plucked Astron into the limelight on February 22, others began to wake up to the company’s potential.

The deal is the latest in a stream of American swoops for Cambridgeshire technology in the last six months. The transatlantic dealflow has seen Danaher take inkjet firm Linx, Pfizer snap up Meridica, QUALCOMM acquire Trigenix, priceline.com buy Active Hotels and Broadcom swoop for Alphamosaic.