Blue Star has made its fourth acquisition of the year, buying well-known Sydney printer Oxygen three years after it split off from Southern Colour.
Oxygen managing director Scott Telfer says Blue Star made a good offer that allows him and his wife to exit the $6.5m turnover business, as he is getting a bit old to keep managing it.
“We were thinking about a succession plan but this came up and it was an opportunity too good to refuse,” he says.
Oxygen’s sheetfed and digital operations will move to Blue Star’s Silverwater facility next month with the kit sold off overseas by Heidelberg, except for a Konica Minolta bizhub C7000 Press which Blue Star will keep.
[Related: More mergers and acquisitions]
The deal also brings operations director Anthony Dickinson back to Blue Star, which he left in 2007 to found Oxygen with Telfer.
The duo will have senior roles in the business under NSW general manager Hugh Chisholm, helping clients transition to Blue Star, while 22 of the 25 other staff will be made redundant.
Blue Star chief executive Matt Aitken says the company was attracted to the strength of Oxygen’s client base, reputation, and the skill of its management.
“Oxygen is highly regarded within the industry, with a strong reputation for quality, innovation and service and we think its people are a great fit for our business,” he says.
“We look forward to having Scott and key members of his team join Blue Star and are excited about the enhanced value proposition we can provide Oxygen’s clients.”
Buying Oxygen of course also removes a direct, though smaller, competitor to Blue Star’s NSW offset business.
[Feature: Oxygen a breath of fresh air]
Telfer says while he wanted to stop being a business owner he is not thinking of retiring and wants to stay at Blue Star long term.
“I sold to Blue Star because it is a reputable company that can look after my clients and give them the quality they are accustomed to. I admire the Seligs and the team they have put together,” he says.
“I look forward to presenting them with many new services such as personalised communications, retail display and Augmented Reality. It just makes sense for us to join Blue Star and I can see our customers getting very real benefits from this.
“Oxygen has many loyal clients and the response has been overwhelmingly positive as they see the benefits of having so many services under one roof.”
Oxygen began as Southern Colour’s NSW offshoot in 2007 and was spun off in October 2012 when Southern Colour decided to concentrate on its Melbourne operations.
Comment below to have your say on this story.
If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.
Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter