Agfa Sells Off Typography Business

Agfa-Gevaert has signed an agreement to divest its Agfa Monotype Corporation, which provides fonts and font-related software technology. The company will be sold for $169 million to TA Associates, a private equity firm based in Boston.

In a press release, Agfa-Gevaert said that the company is focusing on further strengthening its position in the prepress market and on building a new growth platform in industrial inkjet printing. “The font business is not a core activity in this context, and Agfa believes that divesting Monotype Imaging”?will place the typography business in a stronger position to broaden its technology and market base.”
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Agfa Monotype is headquartered in Wilmington, MA, and employs 144 people.

Agfa also finalized the divestiture of its Consumer Imaging business closed as of November 2, 2004. The photographic film, finishing, and lab-equipment activities will now be continued by AgfaPhoto, which operates completely independently from Agfa. All relevant assets and liabilities, as well as more than 2800 employees, have been transferred to AgfaPhoto GmbH. (Agfa: www.agfa.com; TA Associates: www.ta.com; AgfaPhoto: www.agfaphoto.com)