Walstead Leykam acquires GD Gotha Druck business in Germany

Neudörfl, June 2023

Walstead Leykam Druck announces today it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase 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 is an established web offset printer based in Thuringia in central Germany and employed 233 staff at the date of the insolvency. The business generated audited revenue of €64.9m for the year ended 31 December 2021.

The transaction involves Walstead purchasing plant and machinery assets and the real estate which includes a 21,500 sq.m. manufacturing and administrative facility. Walstead has formed a new German subsidiary, Walstead Gotha GmbH. 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 and sales footprint in key European print markets of which Germany is the largest. Gotha is highly strategic and 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 printing capability and increasing our presence in the German market by winning new customers.”

Walstead Leykam Druck is part of Walstead Group, the largest independent commercial printing business in Europe, with revenues of €640 million. Founded in 2008, Walstead has completed nine acquisitions and is the leading consolidator in its sector.

The group employs 2,300 staff at 14 production facilities in the UK, Spain, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Poland, and Germany, and operates 61 web offset and 4 gravure printing presses that process 650,000 tonnes of paper annually. Walstead produces high-volume advertising flyers, magazines, newspaper supplements, catalogues, and brochures for over 1,500 major European retailers, publishers, and brand owners.

www.walstead-leykamdruck.com

www.walstead-group.com

For more information:

Walstead Leykam Druck

Mr Stefan Gutheil, CEO
E: stefan.gutheil@walstead-leykamdruck.com

M: +43 664 814 6600