Mercedes Waratah has acquired Michael Wu’s troubled Melbourne digital print business On Demand for an undisclosed sum.

On Demand will be renamed under Mercedes Waratah’s new digital business called Data Direct Digital, which will also include the company’s recently purchased mail business Data Direct Mail.

Mercedes Warratah says the takeover of On Demand will take the group’s annual combined sales to over the $50m mark and will broaden its capabilities.

Group chief operating officer Brett Chalmers says, “We have selected the best people, systems and assets from On Demand, and together with our already strong asset base and financial stability, we can assure all our customers that our foundation is rock solid and we are absolutely in the print and mail industry for the long haul.”

The new Data Direct Digital business will operate out of Mercedes Waratah’s Port Melbourne plant. 

Wu’s company Production Printing, which was trading as On Demand is now listed on the ASIC website as in liquidation.

On Demand was placed into administration on July 22, and was being run under license by Mercedes Waratah’s parent company Docklands Ability Group, owned by Wu’s former business partners Moody and Abbey Aboughattas.

The business was in financial strife with its debts reaching ‘hundreds of thousands’ according to liquidator Matthew Gollant of Rodger Reidy, with creditors including paper merchants Spicers, BJ Ball, KW Doggett and equipment suppliers Canon and HP owed money.

Gollant previously told Australian Printer he was aiming to sell the business, but said the future of the company would be decided during a creditors meeting held on August 26.

The purchase of the On Demand business means that in the space of three months Michael Wu has gone from being a partner in DAG and owner of On Demand and Longbeach Printing to losing all of them.

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