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I'd say it's not a done deal. Orbis, the major shareholder, already holds 10% of the shares, and they could get together with others who collectively hold 5%. Anything over 15% would give them the ability to block the sale under Dutch law. The implication is that it could end up in the odd...

Reuters is carrying the story that Canon has announced a $1.1 billion bid for Oce: Canon seeks printer power with $1.1 billion Oce bid | Deals | Reuters The article speculates about a possible counter-offer from HP or Kyocea, but concludes these are not very likely.

Heidelberg/Manroland talks on hold Heidelberg/Manroland talks on hold Hoped-for improvements in sales at Heideberg have not materialized, and Heidelberg sees no hopeful signs for the coming six months. That has apparently spooked Allianz (which owns most of Manroland and 12% of Heidelberg)...

In an interview with a German financial paper, KBA’s new CEO says the company is about to start making acquisitions in other industries where it sees more profit potential than in printing presses. At the top of the list are packaging equipment, water treatment equipment, and thermal solar...

Heidelberg/Manroland announcement in 2 weeks? Heidelberg/Manroland announcement in 2 weeks? A German financial newsletter service, the Platow Brief, is reporting that a merger between Heidelberg and Manroland will be announced in two weeks. The two companies may be waiting until after the...

Heidelberg-Manroland: merger discussions confirmed Heidelberg-Manroland: merger discussions confirmed The metalworkers’ union IG Metall, which represents factory workers in both companies, attended a special meeting of the Manroland board of directors on September 1. On the following day, the...

Heidelberg-Manroland merger in 4-6 weeks? Heidelberg-Manroland merger in 4-6 weeks? A news report today (September 4) from German Reuters says that Allianz (which owns 65% of Manroland and 12% of Heidelberg) is pushing hard for an agreement, and both Heidelberg and Manroland want the merger to...

Chinese company denies talks with Manroland Chinese company denies talks with Manroland Printweek is reporting that Shanghai Electric has denied the rumor that it is in talks with Manroland to buy its sheet-fed business. The German magazine Deutscher Drucker had reported about that rumor last...

Will Manroland’s sheet-fed business be sold to a Chinese company? Will Manroland’s sheet-fed business be sold to a Chinese company? A German magazine is reporting that Shanghai Electric is investigating the purchase of Manroland’s sheet-fed press business. A few more details (plus a link to...

If you are interested in VDP programming tools, including the inexpensive kind for small ad-hoc conversions, you should check out the discussion at: The Digital Nirvana � Blog Archive � Programming Languages for VDP It started with a plug for Perl and Ruby as essential tools, then moved on...

KBA ended the first half of 2009 with a loss of over 42 million Euros, but it could have been worse: the company reports an unexpected jump sheet-fed press sales in the second quarter. KBA is still hoping for a break-even year. The full press release is below, and there is some additional...

Heidelberg has confirmed that it now has 1.4 billion Euros in loans and guarantees. The details are in line with the various reports from the German press that I have been passing along in recent weeks. There are three primary sources: A loan of 300 million Euro under the government’s credit...

The German press is reporting that Manroland sales are down 29% for the first half of 2009. The company plans to lay off 1,100 people and it is looking for contract manufacturing projects that it can bring in from other companies. More details are here: Manroland must cope with a severe drop...

KBA, which announced earlier this month that layoffs might be coming, has now apparently told employees at its Trennfeld plant that there will be 400 layoffs among KBA's three web-press plants. I say "apparently" because the German magazine Druck & Media, which posted this news on its website...

KBA's layoffs early this year were in plants that built sheet-fed presses. Many thought web presses would make it through the recession OK, but it isn't working out that way. KBA has now announced that there will be hundreds of layoffs in its web-press plants. More details and a link to the KBA...

The amount of financing Heidelberg is seeking seems to rise with each new report. Bloomberg.com is now reporting a figure of 1.4 billion Euros (about $2 billion). Furthermore, Bloomberg says it has heard Heidelberg will get the money in the next few days. More detail, and a link to the...

Governor Schwarzenegger wants schools to start switching this fall, beginning with math and science materials. "What are California's public school students still forced to lug around antiquated, heavy, expensive textbooks?" he says. Details here: Schwarzenegger wants California to switch to...

It lost a quarter of a million Euros for its 2008/9 fiscal year, and it projects a losing year to come, in spite of all its cost-cutting. The government loan guarantees it applied for still haven't come through, but are expected soon. Details from the end-of-year report, and a link to the...

A recent study by the German consulting company Pier 18 suggests that medium-sized printing companies (100-500 employees) are surviving the best in these difficult times. The report looked at the period between 2004 and 2008, a period when the number of German printing companies decreased by...

It's confirmed: the German government has agreed to provide Heidelberg with loan guarantees that the company had applied for a few weeks ago. The exact amount involved is not yet known, however. Details: Heidelberg will receive financial help from the German government