Fortissimo bought a controlling stake in Nur in October 2005 for $12 million
Published in The Jerusalem Post on December 11, 2007
Hewlett-Packard Co., the world’s biggest maker, agreed to buy Lod-based Nur Macroprinters Ltd. for $117.5 million to add machines that make posters for billboards.
Nur will become part of the imaging and printing group, Palo Alto, California-based Hewlett-Packard said today in a statement. Nur makes Expedio and Fresco printers and has customers in more than 100 countries.
Hewlett-Packard has expanded into larger printers this year with this acquisition and that of MacDermid ColorSpan Inc., announced in September. The company’s printing unit accounted for almost a third of sales last quarter and is one of most profitable.
A group of investors led by Israeli equity fund Fortissimo Capital bought a controlling stake in Nur for $12 million. In October 2005, the company’s annual report said. “We are very proud of the extraordinary growth in value that we were able to achieve in two years,” Yuval Cohen, a managing partner at Fortissimo, said. “This is the right time to transfer the operations to a leading international group like Hewlett-Packard.”
Hewlett-Packard spokeswoman Kristine Snyder didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment. Nur makes digital that cost as much as $500,000 and produce large posters for billboard, exhibition and trade-show displays as well as images for backdrops at film and TV studios.
The company, which also makes ink, had revenue of $72.6m. in 2006, according to the annual report. It employed 312 people as of December 31 and has printers in more than 800 sites around the world.
