Flint Group announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its XSYS division, which specializes in the development and supply of printing plates, sleeves and adapters, and pre-press equipment to the packaging industry, to an affiliate of Lone Star Funds, a global private equity firm. The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Upon closing, the XSYS management team will be led by Antoine Fady as CEO, Dagmar Schmidt as COO, and Martin Sauer as CFO. Steve Dryden will succeed Fady as CEO of Flint Group.

“The carve-out we are announcing today represents the next logical step for Flint Group and XSYS,” Fady says. “It will further enable the XSYS business to advance as a standalone, best in class, full solutions provider to the flexographic and letterpress pre-press industries, with tailor-made solutions developed for each market segment and customer type. We look forward to working with Lone Star, whose experience and track record will be of great benefit as we move XSYS forward in this next phase.”

“With this transaction, we will create two dedicated management teams with increased strategic and operational focus,” comments Steve Dryden, newly elected Flint Group CEO. “Flint Group becomes positioned to further invest in the structurally growing segments of paper and board, flexible packaging and labels, serviced with our conventional and digital printing consumables. This successful strategy – centred around product and service innovation — enables Flint to grow with customers that value our colour proposition by helping them to standardise and reduce their costs.”

“We look forward to working with XSYS, a leading global provider of printing solutions,” adds Donald Quintin, president, Lone Star Opportunity Funds. “We recognize not only the resilience of the XSYS business and the diversity of its offerings, but its growth prospects as well. We appreciate the value that XSYS provides its many customers, and have great confidence in the management team’s commitment to realizing XSYS’s potential in the years ahead.”

Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE and J.P. Morgan acted as financial advisor and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP acted as legal advisor to Flint Group. Lone Star was advised by Perella Weinberg Partners and Weil, Gotshal & Manges.