Seven Worldwide, the provider of services such as creative design, photography, file building, retouching and pre-press, has agreed to combine operations with Schawk, Inc. of Des Plaines, IL. Schawk will pay $191 million for the company; the transaction is expected to close in early 2005.
“Our combination with Schawk is a natural progression of our efforts to transform our company into an even stronger industry leader,” says John R. Harris, Seven Worldwide's CEO. “Both companies agree that our future success will be enhanced by expanding our combined ability to offer more services and drive increased value to our customers. This acquisition is particularly powerful because our companies are so complementary, serving global, blue-chip clients and employing a tremendous array of talented people and leading technology.”
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Seven Worldwide performs and coordinates key creative and production services–including design, photography, file building, retouching and pre-press–to deliver content such as advertising and editorial pages, consumer goods packaging, out-of-home signage (point-of-sale, large format) and Internet content. It operates from locations across North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. Seven Worldwide is controlled by an affiliate of funds managed by Kohlberg & Company, a private equity firm with offices in New York and California. Kohlberg affiliates acquired control of the company in a recapitalization and buyout in 2003.
The joining of the two companies, says David Schawk, president and CEO of Schawk Inc., “will provide exceptional products and services from locations in the United States, Canada, Asia, the United Kingdom, Europe and, most recently, India. This acquisition allows the combined companies to significantly broaden global coverage and increase market leadership in the creation and production of packaging, advertising and in-store marketing and signage.” (Seven Worldwide: www.sevenww.com; Schawk: www.schawk.com)