Private equity printer looks to go public

Following its move into the United Kingdom, private equity-backed Opus Print Group, is considering listing on the New Zealand Stock Exchange.

CEO, Cliff Brigstocke, (pictured) confirmed that there is talk of the company going public, along with further acquisitions. “It’s one of the options we are discussing at the moment as part of our ongoing growth plans,” he told Print21.

Already, it has been a big year for the company which has purchased two new Indigo presses and forming strategic alliances with two British printers, Hobbs the Printers and MPG Books Group as part of the plan to better service global and Asia Pacific region customers.

Brigstocke said that the group is now looking to further expend its global capacity with a strategic alliance in North America. “Negotiations are advanced and we expect an announcement in the near future,” he said.

The most recent development for Opus is the launch of a customised suite of online print management tools, iPalm (Integrated Print & Logistics Management Platform), proprietary software that lets publishers use multiple content and service delivery options across traditional print to distribute and print-on-demand (POD).

Brigstocke described the iPalm software as a combination of digital asset management through to workflow solutions, which manages transactions through to the distribution.

“I call it the glue as it holds together our products and services offering, which includes but is not limited to print, for example it would also include pick-and-pack warehousing and logistics as well as electronic delivery,” he said.

Run from a secure ecommerce platform the software features web-to-print templates allowing publishers to eliminate the proofing process and reduce turnaround time, and an asset archive to ensure their digital assets are secure, retained and retrievable after printing.