Print Solutions
The German Federal Cartel Office has announced its decision to block the planned takeover of the MBO Group by Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg). Due to this decision, the takeover will not go ahead. ‘We take note of the decision with regret and moving on, even though we see the future market position of the combined company's differently,’ commented Heidelberg CEO Rainer Hundsdörfer.
The two companies remain convinced that integrating the offerings of MBO would have given customers added benefits in terms of smooth industrial processes in the digital future. Following the ruling, both companies will continue to run their businesses separately and independently as before.
Heidelberg publicly announced its intention to take over the MBO Group and concluded an agreement with the owning family back in October 2018. This agreement was then submitted to the Federal Cartel Office for approval and had been under review since that time.
Even though the takeover of the MBO Group is not going ahead, Heidelberg will continue to pursue its strategy of further developing its post press portfolio in the direction of industrial scale post press operations. This includes the successful positioning of the Stahlfolder TH/KH series folding machines, especially the high performance P-class. The company is also investing in a new way of improving transparency in post press production control for all products. In parallel to this, it is systematically aligning new business models with the growth segments of digital and packaging and tapping into new customer groups for its entire product range. This applies in particular to the segments of digital post press and post press for folding cartons and the associated inserts and outserts used in the pharmaceutical sector. It is also underlined by the company’s collaboration with Masterwork Group, which was expanded with a capital measure in March and is designed to open up further potential on the growing packaging market.
