SATO completes Checkpoint purchase

SATO has announced the successful acquisition, previously made public on December 22, 2005, of Checkpoint Systems, Inc.’s former BCS businesses, as well as the Hand-held Labeling Systems (HLS) in the United States. All closing conditions including regulatory and other third-party approvals necessary for the transaction to be completed were, as expected, met in time to satisfy the targeted closing date of January 29, 2006. 

The recently acquired businesses along with its employees will operate under five new SATO companies based in North America, Spain, Germany, Australia and New Zealand respectively.

‘This deal offers SATO the immediate benefit of increasing our capacity in existing markets as well as expanding the company’s network into markets not fully explored yet,’ said SATO president Masanori Otsuka. ‘The size of our business outside of Japan has jumped from US$114 million to potentially more than US$220 million. It represents a significant step forward in our drive to meeting our 2015 target for overseas business of 75 billion yen (about US$637 million). This acquisition fits with our long-term vision of growth and profitability, especially in the consumables market segment outside of Japan.’

Otsuka continued, ‘While it is still early, we have already seen plenty of evidence of what the BCS businesses will bring to the fold: highly developed label converting facilities, a full product offering of barcode and labeling solutions, longstanding sourcing, and channel relationships.’

The new SATO Group Member Company located in North America is: SATO Labeling Solutions America, Inc., 140 Windham Parkway, Romeoville, Illinois 60446, USA.