OEM printer manufacturer Dataproducts Corp, Woodland Hills, California has put itself up for sale. For long the one big US owned rival in the printer business to Centronics Corp, which is now absorbed into Genicom Inc, Dataproducts has been at best marginally profitable over the last few years, slipping in and out of losses. The company, which has rebuffed two moves by an investment group to make a bid for it, has retained Goldman Sachs & Co to contact several companies seen by Dataproducts as acceptable parents, and ask them whether they are interested in buying Dataproducts at a significant premium over its current market price. The board will sell only if it receives an offer it deems satisfactory. The shares closed last week at $16 even, at which price Dataproducts is valued at $315m. The investment group calling itself DPC Acquisition Partners had suggested $12.50 a share; it is sitting on 6.9%. For the nine months to December 31, Dataproducts had net profit of $3.6m against a $5.3m loss last time 3m on sales of $268m.
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