Management Group to Buy Triton Graphics Subsidiary
An investor group led by current management will buy Continental Graphics from majority owner Triton Group of La Jolla for $183 million, the companies announced Monday.
The investor group headed by Continental Graphics President Curtis F. Bourland and Senior Vice President Richard Agostinelli will pay Triton $16 a share for its 89% stake in Continental, plus $1 a share in securities of the acquiring entity. Public stockholders other than Triton will get $17 a share in cash, the companies said.
The buyer group has not yet secured financing for the buyout, but “there are a number of potential sources,” said Mitchell Woodbury, general counsel of Intermark, the La Jolla-based mini-conglomerate that owns 41% of Triton. Triton announced in February that it was selling the subsidiary. The sale should be completed by Sept. 15, he said.
Subject to shareholder approval, the sale of the printing concern will generate an $80 million, or $7.50-a-share, gain to Triton, Woodbury said. Triton does not plan to issue a cash pay-out to its shareholders, but instead will use the proceeds to finance other acquisitions, he said.
Based in Los Angeles, Continental became a public company with a stock offering in mid-1987 and is engaged in commercial printing, specialty graphics and film services. Last year, it posted a profit of $9 million on sales of $261 million. Triton sold Simplicity Pattern Co. earlier this year to a management group for $117.5 million, posting a $40-million gain.
The latest transaction will leave Triton, a holding company, with a war chest of more than $300 million cash for acquisitions, Triton said. Continental graphics stock closed up $.375 in Monday trading at $15.75, and Triton Group stock was up $.375 at $16.125. Intermark rose $.125 to $13.25
