New England Business Service, Inc. has acquired Safeguard Business Systems, Inc. for $72.5 million in cash.
The transaction is expected to close in early June.
Dallas-based Safeguard manufactures and markets a line of checks, check-writing systems and business forms to small businesses through a network of approximately 360 distributors in the U.S. and Canada. The company reported revenues of approximately $158 million in 2002.
Safeguard, which has more than 600,000 active small business customers, will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary. The company employs approximately 850 people, primarily in Dallas, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.
NEBS has 2.5 million small business customers in the U.S., the U.K., Canada and France. The Groton, MA-based company yesterday reported third-quarter revenue of $127.3 million, a decline of 4.2% compared with the same period last year. (Direct Newsline, April 24, 2003).
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