PITTSBURGH, PA—Matthews International Corp. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Schawk, Inc., a leading global brand development, activation and brand deployment company. SGK reported sales of $443 million for 2013 and has approximately 3,600 employees in more than 20 countries. Closing is scheduled to occur prior to Sept. 30, 2014. Sales for the combined entity are forecasted at $850 million annually.
For better than 100 years, Matthews has been a leading provider to the packaging industry with the company’s brand solutions products and services. Clarence W. Schawk, who founded SGK in 1953, and David A. Schawk together have built a leading global provider of brand development and brand deployment to many of the world’s largest companies and brands. This merger builds upon the legacies of both companies and will create a global leader in brand solutions, which includes brand development, activation, brand deployment and delivery.
“SGK’s geographic and product positioning is uniquely complementary to Matthews. Our teams are also highly complementary and have exceptional talent,” said Joseph C. Bartolacci, president and chief executive officer of Matthews. “With their North American presence and Asian competencies, combined with our European strength and merchandising capabilities, this alliance will create compelling new opportunities for our clients and employees in all of the markets we serve. Through integration efforts, we expect to achieve significant cost savings synergies, building an even stronger and more competitive business in the global brand solutions market, which is also expected to drive revenue growth. We have a well defined implementation plan and process for the achievement of these cost savings.
“David Schawk has agreed to lead the combination of SGK and our comparable brand solutions businesses,” he continued. “SGK has done a tremendous job of establishing its brands, including Schawk!, Anthem and Brandimage. The combination of these brands with our well established Matthews’ brands will all be branded under the SGK name. Under his leadership, I am confident that we will continue to expand our global reach, further strengthen our relationships with branding clients and achieve our synergy objectives. In addition, David is expected to become a member of Matthews’ Board of Directors upon the closing of this transaction.”
“We are excited to be partnering with Matthews International and look forward to capitalizing on the opportunities this transaction will create,” said David A. Schawk, chief executive officer of SGK. “With Matthews International’s trusted reputation in Europe and ours in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, this alliance is expected to form a stronger global offering and provide greater value to our clients and the markets we serve, along with enhancing our ability to expand into key brand development markets.”