Correction – MBO Ownership & Administration

Australian Printer would like to issue a correction for an article written by Andy McCourt in our April issue, in which our readers may have come to an incorrect conclusion about the future of MBO and Herzog + Heyman products in Australia, which are distributed locally by Print & Pack, and which look set to continue uninterrupted.

Andy McCourt writes:

In the current (April) issue of Australian Printer, page 34, I wrote that renowned folder manufacturer MBO was ‘part of Heidelberg following the end of MBO’s administration.’ The semantics of the word ‘administration’ need to be clarified, as the administration was a request of the late owner Heinz Binder, and not an insolvency administration.

In an April 2017 statement, MBO said:

“Since 2001, MBO Group has been managed by an estate administrator, including an advisory board and managing director. This was a condition of the will and testament of Heinz Binder. With all conditions of his will recently fulfilled, the company has returned to being 100 percent owned by the Binder family.”

The sale to Heidelberg was also blocked, after publication, It seems the German anti-trust authorities (The Bundeskartellamp, or German Federal Cartel Office) stepped in sometime following the October 2018 signing of the agreement for Heidelberg to buy MBO, and put the kybosh on the deal in early May.

The original deal was to ‘close by the end of 2018’ and, it being April four months after that deadline, it seemed reasonable to state that it was fait acomplis. Not in the view of the the Bundeskartellamp, who have finally announced: “The merger would create a dominant position for Heidelberg and significantly impede competition in the market to the detriment of customers.” This is despite Heidelberg promising to keep the MBO brand and operate it as an independent company, retaining its manufacturing and distribution network. Both companies have stated they regret the blocking decision, saying: “The two companies remain convinced that integrating the offerings of MBO would have given customers added benefits in terms of smooth industrial processes in the digital future.”

MBO was being offered for sale by new managers Thomas Heininge and Christian Gohlke at the time, following the 2001 death of the company founder Heinz Binder and the beginning of 16 years of administration of MBO, under the aforementioned will and testament. This administration was revoked in 2017, freeing up the company to be offered for sale.

Heidelberg was so confident in the success of the deal, on October 2nd it announced: "Heidelberg investing in digital postpress operations with takeover of MBO Group."

MBO reciprocated with its own news announcement in what was obviously to be a friendly take-over.

Now, unless there is an appeal, it looks like Heidelberg and Stahlfolder will compete head-to-head with MBO, when they were all set to fall under one ownership and leverage each other’s unique technologies, particularly MBO’s large format and pharmaceutical folders.

To MBO’s credit, they have continued to innovate and release new products, such as the CoBo-Stack and K80 Combi, throughout the process and of course the renowned MBO build quality and reliability is still there.

 

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