Creo Inc. has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Eastman Kodak Company. The boards of directors of Kodak and Creo have approved the proposed transaction, which must also meet shareholder approval as well as regulatory and court approvals. A meeting of Creo shareholders to approve the transaction will be held on March 29, 2005.
“Creo's product line complements the work already underway at Kodak,” says James Langley, president of Graphic Communications Group and senior vice president, Eastman Kodak Company. Earlier this month, Kodak announced that it would become the sole owner of Kodak Polychrome Graphics (KPG), its joint venture with Sun Chemical Corporation.
“Commercial printers use Creo's products in tandem with those sold by KPG; combining Kodak's, KPG's and Creo's portfolios will give customers what they want – a single supplier for their graphic communications needs. We will be able to marry our digital presses with Creo's prepress offerings, including their market-leading workflow, to accelerate growth.”
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Upon the closing of the transaction and the completion of the organizational structure of Kodak's Graphic Communications Group (GCG), Creo's operations will become part of the Graphics Solutions & Services operating unit of GCG, reports Kodak.
“The proposed transaction will not only generate immediate return for Creo shareholders but will also benefit our customers through the combination of leading prepress equipment and consumables,” says Amos Michelson, Creo CEO. “By uniting our strengths, Creo and Kodak can continue to actively drive the evolution of the graphic communications industry while delivering a complete line of the highest-quality, most competitive products and services in our industry. The economy of scale gained by combining resources will allow us to speed up product development and deliver new innovations and breakthrough solutions to the market.”
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“Kodak also stands to gain a great deal from this transaction,” says Michelson, “including a pipeline of promising products from Creo's leading research and development organization, direct access to the largest installed base of computer-to-plate (CTP) and workflow systems in the world, and access to our extremely loyal and supportive customer base.”
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Kodak will acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Creo at a cash price of US$16.50 per share or approximately US$980 million. The company has decided to postpone its annual and special meeting of shareholders, currently scheduled for February 10, 2005, and reschedule it for March 29, 2005. At the rescheduled meeting, Creo shareholders will be entitled to consider and vote upon the proposed transaction in addition to the matters currently contemplated by the February 10 meeting. (Kodak: www.kodak.com, Creo: www.creo.com)