Konica Minolta Acquires Ergo Asia
Tokyo (June 23, 2014) - Konica Minolta, Inc. (Konica Minolta) today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Ergo Asia Pty Limited (Ergo), a leading Asian marketing production management services provider, to acquire all shares. Ergo has its global headquarters in Sydney, Australia.
Background
Under its Medium Term Business Plan “TRANSFORM 2016,” business expansion in the production print sector is one of Konica Minolta's major management policies.
Among the production print sector, especially in the high-volume output segment, commercial printers expect vendors to offer solution proposals utilizing productive digital printing systems with stable and high-quality output capabilities for a wide variety of paper types. Moreover, enterprise clients that order print jobs to printers need offering of new approaches and services to bring added values to a diverse mix of production (print, digital, displays, artwork, etc) for sales promotion and other marketing efforts.
Purpose and effect
Ergo's general enterprise customers take full advantage of Ergo's expertise in the “Marketing Print Management (MPM)” services that improve marketing business process and assist planning and production of highly value-added products useful for promotion and marketing purposes. Ergo has been developing its MPM business across Asia.
With the acquisition, Konica Minolta intends to add not only Ergo's sophisticated services management know-how and network but also its unique application system leading to higher productivity in running the business.
As a result of the acquisition, Konica Minolta will be able to offer a wider variety of options and solutions, based on the latest schemes and innovative technologies, in responding to demands from general enterprise clients in Oceania and Asia, not only for higher added value and optimized quality but also for better cost performance in their marketing production needs. Furthermore, along with the acquisition of UK-based Charterhouse PM Limited in November 2012, Konica Minolta will be well positioned to build a system to deliver MPM services for global corporations with offices in Oceania and Asia. Through the offering of MPM services, Konica Minolta will contribute to broadening the scope of commercial printers and general enterprise customers' businesses.
Ergo's customer base will continue to be supported and expanded through the continuing evolution of Ergo's MPM business.
Scheme of acquisition
Konica Minolta will purchase all shares of Ergo. The two companies entered into the definitive agreement for the acquisition on June 11, 2014.
Overview of Ergo
| Company name | Ergo Asia Pty Limited |
|---|---|
| Established | 2004 |
| Headquarters | Sydney, Australia |
| Number of employees | 176 (as at August 20, 2013) |
| Countries with offices | Australia, New Zealand, China, Indonesia, India, Thailand, The Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore and USA |
| Business operation | Provision of marketing management services including Digital Production, Digital Asset Management, Studio Services, Software Provision, Retail Display Production and Print Production |
With its Brand Proposition “Giving Shape to Ideas,” Konica Minolta will continue enhancing its presence in the production print field and the corporate values of the Konica Minolta Group through offering of solutions and services that fulfill the customers' needs and bring high added values.