ACCO completes merger with MeadWestvaco division

Lincolnshire-based ACCO Brands Corp. said it has completed the merger with MeadWestvaco’s Consumer & Office Products business.

“The combination of our businesses creates a powerhouse of complementary brands and products that we will be able to market across all relevant channels, including mass market retail, office super stores, independent and wholesale office products dealers, and e-commerce outlets,” said Robert J. Keller, chairman and chief executive officer of ACCO Brands. “We are also significantly diversifying our global footprint.” 

The merger adds MeadWestvaco’s brands, such as Mead, Five Star, Trapper Keeper, At-A-Glance, Cambridge, Day Runner, Hilroy, Tilibra and Grafon’s, into ACCO Brands’ industry-leading product portfolio.

The addition of Ohio-based MeadWestvaco’s Consumer & Office Products business increases ACCO’s 2011 revenues by more than 50 percent on a pro-forma basis, with approximately 80 percent of sales of the combined businesses coming from category-leading brands, the company said in a release. On a pro-forma basis, the combined company’s revenue for 2011 was $2.1 billion.

According to the company, the merger is expected to immediately add to ACCO Brands’ earnings per share; yield approximately $20 million of annualized cost synergies, enhance ACCO Brands’ gross profit and operating income margins and enable ACCO Brands to recapitalize its balance sheet and increase its interest coverage ratio, and accelerate balance-sheet deleveraging.

In addition, the company expects to significantly enhance cash flow generation and provide ACCO Brands with a $180 million sales leadership position in Brazil, and double ACCO Brands’ sales volume in Canada; and

“Our new colleagues from the legacy Mead business bring talent and expertise that will contribute to anticipated future growth, and we warmly welcome them into the ACCO Brands family,” Keller said.