Chairman Ben-Shaul:The sale of the Scitex pre-print activity to Creo is not the end of Scitex, and there is no intention of selling the company’s activity. “It is a new beginning, and there is no intention to conduct a fire-sale for Scitex”.
Ben-Shaul: “No Intention of Scitex Fire-sale; Sale of Division to Creo – New Beginning By Keren Tsuriel “The strategic structure of Scitex has changed; it is becoming a specialized investment company, with investments in separate, focused companies, as favored by the capital market and new economy of the global village”. This was said today by Clal Industries general manager Rimon Ben-Shaul at a press conference, in which Scitex announced it was merging its pre-print activity with Canadian company Creo. Scitex in its new structure will focus on two fields: digital printing and Internet technology, with the goal of creating growth in its subsidiaries and value for its shareholders. Ben-Shaul emphasized that the sale of pre-print activity to Creo is not the end of Scitex, and there is no intention of selling the company’s activity. “It is a new beginning, and there is no intention to conduct a fire-sale for Scitex”, he said. Under the agreement, Scitex is selling its pre-print activity to Creo in return for 27% of Creo’s shares, fully diluted, which are worth $610 million. Since reports of the expected deal with Scitex, Creo’s share rose on the Vancouver stock exchange to $40, raising the value of the transaction from $537 million to $610 million. Creo president Amos Michelson noted that, on a pro forma basis, the results of the consolidated company for the four quarters ending in September 1999 show sales of $635 million and an operating profit of $60 million. The largest competitors of the new company, Creo-Scitex, in the pre-print field are Agfa, the volume of whose activity is estimated at $2 billion; and Dai Nippon Printing of Japan, with an activity volume of $500 million. Scitex general manager Yoav Chelouche said that Creo-Scitex jointly employ 4,200 staff, of whom 1,200 are in Israel. Chelouche emphasized that there is no intention to lay off Scitex employees following the merger. Published by Israel’s Business Arena on January 18, 2000
