Communisis Group set for £154m sell-off to US group

communisis 1Communisis Group has agreed a takeover deal with US outsourcing giant OSG Group which will value the company at £154m, if the deal gains shareholder approval.
Shareholders are being offered 71p per share in cash, representing a premium of approximately 39.8% to Monday’s closing price of 50.8p.
Private equity-owned OSG is an independent provider of outsourced omnichannel billing, critical communications and payment solutions. It serves about 5,400 clients across a diversified set of industries, including the communications, utility, financial services, healthcare, education, insurance and media and publishing sectors.
Formerly the John Mansfield Group, Communisis was set up in 1999 but started diversifying away from its print roots in December 2008, when the company paid £12.6m for Absolute Intuistic. The business is now known as Communisis Data Intelligence.
The group also tried its hand at agency services, forming Psona in December 2014 from the merger of three Communisis acquisitions – The Communications Agency (bought for £7.25m in June 2014), Geronimo and Public Creative – and set up offices in Little Portland Street, London. However, this agency was merged into Psona Twelve last year.
The group now consists of five divisions: print arm Communisis, Communisis Digital, Communisis Data Intelligence, Psona Films, Editions Financial, Life and Twelve. Its clients include HSBC, EE, TV Licensing, HM Revenues & Customs, Coty and Nestlé.
Communisis chairman David Gilbertson said: “Whilst the Communisis board believes that the business would have a promising future as an independent listed company, a combination with OSG will provide Communisis with the scale, global presence and digital technology capabilities to ensure it remains at the forefront of its industry and maximises its future potential.”
OSG chairman and chief executive Scott Bernstein added: “This is a significant development for our business and we believe that uniting Communisis and OSG will be an important step in building one of the largest and most competitive outsourced customer communications platforms serving businesses globally.”

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