Law firm Howard Kennedy has acted for the founders and shareholders of Solopress on its sale to German print giant Onlineprinters, which completed on 2 May 2017.
Solopress, founded in 1999, is one of the UK’s largest fast-turnaround online print companies, providing a wide range of business printed materials, including business cards, leaflets, brochures, posters and banners.
In 2016 the business fulfilled more than 300,000 orders and in October 2016 hit its one million order mark.
Onlineprinters, based in Germany, is one of a portfolio of companies held by the German family office and private equity investor Bregal Unternehmerkapital. It is one of Europe’s largest online print companies with ambitious international expansion plans.
Solopress founders Aron Priest and Andy Smith will continue to lead Solopress in the UK as its managing directors and as shareholders in Onlineprinters Group.
All involved parties agreed not to disclose the terms of the transaction.
The Howard Kennedy team was led by corporate partner Paul Glassberg, with support from senior associate Ian Scott and associate Sian Dewing. Other members of the Howard Kennedy team included Leigh Sayliss (tax), Lydia Christie (employment), Alex Meloy (IP/IT) and Vanessa Laundon (real estate).
Howard Kennedy, a member of the Meritas global alliance of law firms, worked alongside fellow Meritas members Arnecke Sibeth (Germany) and LG Avocats (Luxembourg), who advised on local law aspects. The London and Munich offices of Kirkland & Ellis International acted for Onlineprinters Group.
Glassberg says: “Solopress have grown rapidly having identified a corner of the print market that was not being well-served by traditional printers. Our membership of Meritas and the relationships we have developed with member firms leaves us well placed to advice on these cross border transactions. We are delighted to have acted for the founders and shareholders, Aron Priest and Andy Smith, and wish them every success in the future.”
Aron Priest, Solopress founder, says: “This sale gives us the platform to reach a much large customer base and to fund further growth. It is good for our customers and for our business. Our thanks go to Paul and his team at Howard Kennedy for all of the hard work they have put in to make sure this deal completes efficiently and smoothly.”
GCA Altium acted as financial advisers to the shareholders of Solopress, with Rickard Luckin providing accountancy and tax support.
