NEUDÖRFL, AUSTRIA • 9th JUNE 2023: Walstead Leykam Druck announces today it has entered into a definitive agreement with attorney-at-law, Mr Rolf Rombach, provisional insolvency administrator, to purchase the assets of GD Gotha Druck und Verpackung GmbH & Co. KG (“Gotha”), which filed for insolvency on 3 February 2023. The transaction is expected to close in June 2023, subject to approval by the relevant competition and regulatory authorities.
Gotha, one of the largest printers of retail advertising flyers in Germany, had audited revenue of €65m for the year ended 31 December 2021, and employed 233 staff.
The transaction involves Walstead purchasing Gotha’s plant and machinery and the freehold property which includes a 21,500 sq.m. factory in Thuringia, central Germany. Walstead has formed a new German subsidiary, Walstead Gotha GmbH, which will be taking on a large proportion of the Gotha workforce. Mr Uwe Stadler, Managing Director of Walstead’s NP Druck business in St. Pölten, Austria, has been appointed Managing Director of the new company.
Mr Stefan Gutheil, Chief Executive Officer of Walstead Leykam Druck, commented: “Walstead’s strategy is to expand its manufacturing footprint in key European countries, of which Germany is the largest, and to continue increasing our share of retail advertising print. This will be our first production facility in Germany where we currently export product from our Austrian, Czech, and Slovenian factories. We are looking forward to serving Gotha’s customers who will be supported by Walstead’s market-leading and extensive heatset web offset capability and increasing our presence in the German market.”