Empresas y finanzas

TA Associates Completes Investment in Gandinnovations



    TA Associates, a leading growth private equity and buyout firm,
    today announced it has completed a significant minority investment in
    Gandinnovations, a leading manufacturer of state-of-the-art wide
    format graphics printers and ink. Terms of the transaction were not
    disclosed.

    Founded in 2000, Gandinnovations offers several models of flatbed
    and roll-to-roll solvent and UV printers for a wide variety of
    commercial applications. Flatbed models print on rigid or flexible
    substrates to create poster-sized advertisements or point of purchase
    displays, or can be used for applications as diverse as adding
    wood-grain finish to furnishings and flooring. Roll-to-roll printers
    are typically used for vinyl billboards, truck and bus wraps, but may
    also be used to create material such as wallpaper. Gandinnovations has
    a worldwide installed base of over 1,000 printers, operating in more
    than 50 countries. The company is headquartered in Mississauga,
    Ontario, Canada with offices in San Antonio, Texas, Belgium, Dubai,
    India and Mexico, and has a distributor network of over 40 resellers
    across the globe.

    "We are very pleased to complete this investment in
    Gandinnovations," said A. Bruce Johnston, a Managing Director at TA
    Associates who will join the company's Board of Directors. "With a
    well-earned reputation for innovative product engineering and superior
    performance, Gandinnovations has emerged as a true global leader in
    wide format digital printing. We are excited to partner with James and
    Hary Gandy to help them continue to grow the business." In keeping
    with TA's investment approach, the Gandinnovations management team
    will continue to run the business and there will be no change in
    management structure.

    "We are delighted to announce our partnership with TA Associates,"
    said James Gandy, Founder and CEO of Gandinnovations. "We welcome TA's
    financial support and industry experience, along with their flexible
    and management friendly approach, and look forward to working closely
    with them during this next phase of our growth."

    "This partnership will allow us to invest in the future of our
    products and continue to expand our international presence," remarked
    Hary Gandy, President of Gandinnovations.

    The wide format graphics market is a sub-sector of the display
    graphics market, which has an estimated worldwide retail value of $100
    billion, encompassing both analog and digital technologies. Analog
    technology such as screen, offset, flexo and gravure printing
    represents about $70 billion, with digital solutions, including ink
    jet, electrophotography and thermal transfer, making up the remainder.
    Manufacturers of wide format graphics printers generated revenues of
    $8.9 billion in 2006, a figure expected to reach $12 billion by 2011.

    "The wide format graphics printer market is undergoing a
    fundamental change as newer UV flatbed and roll-to-roll offerings
    replace older technologies," said Harry D. Taylor, a Senior Vice
    President at TA Associates who will also join the company's Board of
    Directors. "We anticipate Gandinnovations' growth to continue as
    digital solutions gain greater market share, displacing screen
    printing and other analog approaches to large format printing."

    TA Associates has more than 39 years of investing experience,
    focusing on profitable growth companies. The firm has invested in more
    than 200 technology companies, including specialty printer and wide
    format printing companies such as Fargo Electronics, Monotype Imaging
    and Trident International.

    Goodwin Procter served as legal counsel to TA Associates. Jaffe,
    Raitt, Heuer & Weiss, P.C. provided legal services to Gandinnovations.

    Gandinnovations

    Gandinnovations designs, develops and manufactures wide format
    digital printers. Founded in 2000 by industry pioneer James Gandy, the
    company offers seven models of solvent and UV printers.
    Gandinnovations is known for its cutting-edge technology, pioneering
    true 600 dpi on all solvent printer models and true 1200 dpi on all UV
    printer models. Gandinnovations is headquartered in Mississauga,
    Ontario, Canada with sales and service headquartered in San Antonio,
    Texas. Additional offices are located in Mexico City, Mumbai, India,
    Belgium and Dubai, with service centers worldwide. More information
    can be found at www.gandinnovations.com.

    TA Associates

    Founded in 1968, TA Associates is one of the largest and most
    experienced private equity firms. With offices in Boston, London and
    Menlo Park, the firm manages $10 billion in capital and has invested
    in more than 380 companies. TA Associates provides management buyout,
    leveraged recapitalization and growth equity capital primarily for
    technology, financial services, business services, healthcare and
    consumer businesses. More information about TA Associates can be found
    at www.ta.com.