LSC Communications is an American commercial printing company based in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, and, , a fully-owned subsidiary of
Atlas Holdings.
The company was established in 2016 as part of a
corporate spin-off
A corporate spin-off, also known as a spin-out, starburst or hive-off, is a type of corporate action where a company "splits off" a section as a separate business or creates a second incarnation, even if the first is still active. It is distinct ...
from
RR Donnelley.
It owns the publishers
Research & Education Association and
Dover Publications
Dover Publications, also known as Dover Books, is an American book publisher founded in 1941 by Hayward and Blanche Cirker. It primarily reissues books that are out of print from their original publishers. These are often, but not always, book ...
.
LSC is the largest producer of books in the United States.
Acquisitions and divestitures
In 2017 and 2018, LSC made several purchases, including TriLiteral LLC (a book distributor owned by
Harvard University Press
Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou.
The pres ...
,
MIT Press
The MIT Press is the university press of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The MIT Press publishes a number of academic journals and has been a pioneer in the Open Ac ...
, and
Yale University Press
Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day and Clarence Day, grandsons of Benjamin Day, and became a department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and ope ...
),
Donnelley Logistics (former parent RR Donnelley's logistics business), logistics company Fairrington Transportation, Creel Printing, Publishers Press, envelope producer Quality Park, and logistics company Clark Group.
In 2018, LSC announced the sale of all of its European printing operations to the Walstead Group.
Failed buyout
In November 2018,
Quad/Graphics announced their intent to purchase LSC in an all-stock deal.
The purchase was expected to double Quad's business overall, primarily in magazines, catalogs, retail inserts and books.
On June 20, 2019, the
Department of Justice issued a press release indicating that it would sue to block the proposed purchase of LSC Communications by Quad Graphics.
One month later, the companies announced they would discontinue the deal rather than fight the lawsuit.
2020 bankruptcy
In 2020, LSC Communications, Inc. and 21 affiliated debtors filed
Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...
in the
.
The company was purchased in December 2020 by the private equity holding company Atlas Holdings.
References
RR Donnelley
Printing companies of the United States
Manufacturing companies based in Chicago
Manufacturing companies established in 2016
American companies established in 2016
Corporate spin-offs
Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020
2020 mergers and acquisitions
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