HP has agreed to buy the UK’s Apogee – Europe’s largest print provider – in a deal that values Apogee at £380 million.
HP said the acquisition furthers its plan to “disrupt the $55 billion A3 copier market and builds on its printing strategy”.
The deal comes after Apogee itself snapped up four companies in a venture capital-fueled growth drive over the past 24 months.
Apogee Will Operate as an Independent Subsidiary
Apogee said in a separate statement that its board, which is led by joint CEOs Jason Collins and Robin Stanton-Gleaves will continue to lead Apogee following the acquisition.
“We will continue to trade as Apogee, an independent subsidiary of HP, continue to supply and support multiple brands of technology, and continue to grow through the strategy of acquisitions in the UK and Europe.”
HP has been investing significant sums in the A3 business, acquiring Samsung’s $1 billion printer business in 2016 and recently launching a portfolio of A3 and A4 multi-function printers based on unique IP and value-added services and solutions.
Apogee reported revenues of £208 million in 2017. HP said: “It is a large, profitable, and progressive office equipment dealer with a proven track record of growth. Apogee augments our existing go-to-market channels, enhances our ability to deliver the solutions and services necessary to win in the contractual printing market, and helps grow our managed print service business.”
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The acquisition target has itself bought four companies since securing funding from Equistone Partners Europe in September 2016. These included Direct Business Systems, Hibernian Business Equipment Limited, CityDocs, and Danwood.
The deal is expected to close by the end of calendar year 2018, pending regulatory review and other customary closing conditions.
HP: Also, Hack our Printers
The acquisition announcement comes a day after HP launched a bug bounty programme with Bugcrowd; the private bug bounty program for printers launched to date, with a reward of up to $10,000 to report vulnerabilities.
As we navigate an increasingly complex world of cyber threats, it’s paramount that industry leaders leverage every resource possible to deliver trusted, resilient security from the firmware up,” said Shivaun Albright, HP’s Chief Technologist of Print Security. “HP is committed to engineering the most secure printers in the world.”
