Esselte is a manufacturer and marketer of
office products and business supplies with
subsidiaries
A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a sa ...
in 25 countries and sales in over 120 countries.
Esselte makes files, binders, folders, covers, staplers, letter trays and computer accessories under the Esselte,
Leitz,
Oxford,
Pendaflex, Rapid and Xyron brands. Customers range from
wholesalers and direct marketers to office superstores and mass retailers.
Founded in 1913 in
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, Esselte is today owned by American office supplies manufacturer
ACCO Brands.
History
Founded in 1913, when 13 Swedish printing and graphic businesses joined forces to create the company ''Sveriges Litografiska Tryckerier''—abbreviated ''SLT''—in 1970, the company renamed itself Esselte, reflecting the pronunciation of the abbreviation. In 2002, the Boston, MA based
US private equity investment firm
J.W. Childs Associates
J. W. Childs Associates L.P. (JWC) is an American private equity firm focused on leveraged buyout and recapitalization transactions for middle-market growth companies. JWC places particular emphasis on consumer products, healthcare and specia ...
purchased Esselte for approximately $560 million in a transaction originated and introduced by Jonathan Slater of Sequel Management, a Boston-based transaction sponsor. At the time of the Esselte acquisition by J.W. Childs, the company was dual listed on the Stockholm and London Stock Exchanges and had revenues in excess of $1 billion.
Acquisitions
In 1978, Esselte acquired the
DYMO Corporation which grew to revenues of approximately $225 million by 2005 when it was sold to
Newell Rubbermaid for approximately $730 million (more than 1.3x the price J.W. Childs paid for Esselte itself back in 2002). In 1998, the company acquired
Leitz, a leading German manufacturer of office products. In 2010, Esselte acquired Isaberg Rapid, a leading stapling company based in Sweden, and
Ampad, a leading North American manufacturer of office products.
References
External links
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{{Authority control
Manufacturing companies established in 1913
Manufacturing companies based in Stockholm
Office supply companies
Stationery
Swedish brands
2017 mergers and acquisitions
Swedish companies established in 1913