Cimpress to acquire National Pen

Robert Keane, president and CEO of Cimpress

Cimpress, the parent company of Vistaprint, Exaprint, Pixartprinting and Tradeprint, has bolstered its promotional products range with an agreement to acquire National Pen Co., a manufacturer and marketer of custom writing instruments for small and medium businesses.

The acquisition is expected to bolster Cimpress’ mass customisation capabilities for promotional products, apparel and gifts (PPAG) offerings for small business marketing products.

‘Just like business cards, custom pens are a simple yet highly effective way for small business owners to market their companies,’ said Robert Keane, president and CEO of Cimpress. ‘National Pen has excellent manufacturing and supply chain capabilities which we do not have today.

‘We are confident we can help to grow both National Pen and the promotional products offering of our existing portfolio of brands’, he added.

Cimpress will develop National Pen’s emerging e-commerce presence and introduce its product range into its Vistaprint and Upload and Print e-commerce brands.

‘We expect our business to thrive as part of Cimpress,’ commented Peter Kelly, National Pen’s president and CEO. ‘We look forward to pursuing a vision to eliminate the cost barriers that keep businesses from expressing their brands across personally relevant marketing materials and gifts.’

Under the terms of the agreement, Cimpress will acquire 100% of the outstanding equity interests of National Pen for a purchase price of approximately $218 (£172.1) million. National Pen’s revenue is expected to be approximately $275 million in calendar year 2016.