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HP bolsters copier position with Apogee buy
Apogee has found itself the target of a deal as HP looks to increase its chances of gaining a major foothold in the A3 copier market
The print management channel has seen plenty of consolidation in the past couple of years but it has usually been at the reseller level. The move by HP to acquire Apogee changes that and gives the vendor a business that it hopes will give it even more traction in the A3 copier market.
The deal has been valued at £380m with Apogee having itself expanded through acquisition over the past four years to become one of Europe's largest provider of print managed services and document management technology.
In the last 18 months Apogee has acquired Danwood, DBS and CityDocs as it made moves to become a major player in the provision of print management.
“The Apogee acquisition extends HP’s print leadership by boldly leveraging the industry shift to contractual sales as we aggressively pursue the A3 office market,” said Enrique Lores, President, HP Imaging and Print.
“We’re augmenting our go-to-market and enhancing our ability to deliver the services necessary to win in the profitable contractual market. This deal complements our broader channel strategy and HP remains committed to building our business through our best-in-class partner program," he added.
HP has form in this area and picked up Samsung's printer business late last year to help it bring more A4 and A3 options to market.
The deal is expected to close by the end of the year and Apogee will run as an independent subsidiary with the vendor stating that it will have the same commercial relationship as any other premium partner.
The Apogee management board led by Joint CEOs Jason Collins and Robin Stanton-Gleaves will continue to lead the firm post acquisition and the firm stated that it would continue to sell a mixture of brands and would continue its own growth strategy in the UK and Europe, including the options of further acquisitions.
