World Color Completes Acquisition of Great Western

Posted on January 4, 1999

World Color Press, Inc. has announced that it has completed the purchase of Great Western Publishing, Inc., a leading printer of retail advertising inserts.

World Color acquired Great Western's four printing facilities west of the Mississippi River with plants located in Phoenix, Arizona; Ontario, California; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Houston, Texas. Since its founding in 1988, Great Western has grown from a 12-person company to an organization with over 400 employees by establishing an integrated network of fully-digital prepress, press, and distribution operations for their customers.

Robert G. Burton, Chairman and CEO of World Color stated: "As we complete another terrific year at World Color, I am pleased to close our fifth acquisition of 1998. We continue to execute our plan of expanding our capabilities across our business lines. This acquisition allows us to continue offering our customers the services they require in order to grow their businesses through World Color's proven "one stop shopping" platform. The addition of Great Western to the Company offers opportunities and value for World Color's customers, employees and investors."

World Color, headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, specializes in the production and distribution of data for customers in the commercial, magazine, catalog, book, direct mail and directory markets. Founded in 1903, World Color employs over 15,000 employees and operates 52 facilities with a network of sales offices nationwide.