The pan-European book printing group is the subject of a takeover offer from Banque Publique d’Investissement (BPI), the French state-owned bank, together with an unnamed private investor. However, the deal would mean the banks that currently own CPI would see their investments entirely wiped out, although a figure of €20m has been mooted as part of a possible clawback arrangement to sweeten the deal. The current banking consortium took ownership of CPI in 2009, in a debt-for-equity swap that reduced its debt to €123m. The €450m turnover printer has been in talks about restructuring the debt again. The banks involved include the UK’s RBS, which declined to comment. CPI Group marketing director Anthony Morin said progress had been made over the past fortnight: “Discussions are going in the right direction and are positive, even if they’re not finalised yet.” Italian book printer Grafica Veneta has also been named as a potential trade buyer for parts of CPI, which has factories in seven countries across Europe but not in Italy. The company did not respond to requests for comment. “In this type of discussion all types of scenarios are being discussed,” added Morin. “Our intention is to keep the complete group as it is. This makes sense from a strategic point-of-view, there are multiple benefits in being able to pull together all our resources.” A report in French newspaper Les Echos also cited an upcoming cash crunch for CPI because of the busy pre-Christmas production period, but Morin refuted this. “There is no deadline regarding the cash required. The group is cash positive,” he stated. The BPI takeover proposal has been submitted to France’s Interdepartmental Committee on Industrial Restructuring (CIRI). CIRI aims to help struggling French companies with 400-plus employees restructure their operations. The European Union has strict rules on the granting of state aid that could distort competition in the single market. CPI employs around 620 people in France, out of a group total of 2,900. A source told PrintWeek there was “a great deal of French political will” behind finding a positive outcome. PrintWeek understands that an announcement is likely within the next week....

The pan-European book printing group is the subject of a takeover offer from Banque Publique d’Investissement (BPI), the French state-owned bank, together with an unnamed private investor. However, the deal would mean the banks that currently own CPI would see their investments entirely wiped out, although a figure of €20m has been mooted as part of a possible clawback arrangement to sweeten the deal. The current banking consortium took ownership of CPI in 2009, in a debt-for-equity swap that reduced its debt to €123m. The €450m turnover printer has been in talks about restructuring the debt again. The banks involved include the UK’s RBS, which declined to comment. CPI Group marketing director Anthony Morin said progress had been made over the past fortnight: “Discussions are going in the right direction and are positive, even if they’re not finalised yet.” Italian book printer Grafica Veneta has also been named as a potential trade buyer for parts of CPI, which has factories in seven countries across Europe but not in Italy. The company did not respond to requests for comment. “In this type of discussion all types of scenarios are being discussed,” added Morin. “Our intention is to keep the complete group as it is. This makes sense from a strategic point-of-view, there are multiple benefits in being able to pull together all our resources.” A report in French newspaper Les Echos also cited an upcoming cash crunch for CPI because of the busy pre-Christmas production period, but Morin refuted this. “There is no deadline regarding the cash required. The group is cash positive,” he stated. The BPI takeover proposal has been submitted to France’s Interdepartmental Committee on Industrial Restructuring (CIRI). CIRI aims to help struggling French companies with 400-plus employees restructure their operations. The European Union has strict rules on the granting of state aid that could distort competition in the single market. CPI employs around 620 people in France, out of a group total of 2,900. A source told PrintWeek there was “a great deal of French political will” behind finding a positive outcome. PrintWeek understands that an announcement is likely within the next week....

The union is holding a two-day policy forum in London next week, and if a resolution for a strike ballot is passed by the 500 reps, and the union’s 115,000 Royal Mail members vote in favour, industrial action could begin as soon as the end of September. If the ballot does go ahead and is approved, which based on the results of the union’s consultative ballot last month seems likely, any strike action is likely to clash with the planned privatisation of the Royal Mail. CWU head of communications Kevin Slocombe said that a final decision on whether to ballot Royal Mail members would only be made if no agreement was reached or if the ongoing negotiations with Royal Mail were deemed unsuccessful. Talks with the Royal Mail began this week and are scheduled to run for three weeks. If no agreement is reached, a 21-day ballot could be launched in early September. However, Slocombe added that even if the current talks fail and a ballot is launched, this wouldn’t rule out further talks with Royal Mail. Billy Hayes, CWU general secretary, said: “UK postal services are facing unprecedented change and threats. We will always embrace innovation and changes in the industry, but only on terms which maintain decent jobs and protect quality services. “This policy forum is all about anticipating what may lie around the corner and how CWU can react to protect the interests of our members and customers they serve in the increasingly changing world of postal services.” Issues to be discussed at the policy forum will include securing job “protections” in Royal Mail, alternative business models to privatisation, changes to pensions and workplace pressure. Dave Ward, CWU deputy general secretary, said: “We want to secure the best possible protections for our members’ jobs and we will stop at nothing to ensure that their future, and that of the UK’s postal services, is protected. “The offer on job protection made by Royal Mail earlier this month wasn’t worth the paper it was written on. Patience is wearing thin and unless we can secure robust protections for jobs, pay and terms and conditions soon we are asking our reps to endorse a policy of holding a national industrial action ballot no later than September.”...

The union is holding a two-day policy forum in London next week, and if a resolution for a strike ballot is passed by the 500 reps, and the union’s 115,000 Royal Mail members vote in favour, industrial action could begin as soon as the end of September. If the ballot does go ahead and is approved, which based on the results of the union’s consultative ballot last month seems likely, any strike action is likely to clash with the planned privatisation of the Royal Mail. CWU head of communications Kevin Slocombe said that a final decision on whether to ballot Royal Mail members would only be made if no agreement was reached or if the ongoing negotiations with Royal Mail were deemed unsuccessful. Talks with the Royal Mail began this week and are scheduled to run for three weeks. If no agreement is reached, a 21-day ballot could be launched in early September. However, Slocombe added that even if the current talks fail and a ballot is launched, this wouldn’t rule out further talks with Royal Mail. Billy Hayes, CWU general secretary, said: “UK postal services are facing unprecedented change and threats. We will always embrace innovation and changes in the industry, but only on terms which maintain decent jobs and protect quality services. “This policy forum is all about anticipating what may lie around the corner and how CWU can react to protect the interests of our members and customers they serve in the increasingly changing world of postal services.” Issues to be discussed at the policy forum will include securing job “protections” in Royal Mail, alternative business models to privatisation, changes to pensions and workplace pressure. Dave Ward, CWU deputy general secretary, said: “We want to secure the best possible protections for our members’ jobs and we will stop at nothing to ensure that their future, and that of the UK’s postal services, is protected. “The offer on job protection made by Royal Mail earlier this month wasn’t worth the paper it was written on. Patience is wearing thin and unless we can secure robust protections for jobs, pay and terms and conditions soon we are asking our reps to endorse a policy of holding a national industrial action ballot no later than September.”...

Howard Hunt invested in its first Xerox iGen4 in September last year, replacing a five-year-old Kodak Nexpress, as part of a 12-month £3.5m investment strategy in its digital division. General manager of digital printing Simon Currid said the decision to invest in a second was “pretty simple” after seeing the results of its first. “We are so pleased, they are incredibly reliable, our up-time is now at about 96% on a 24-5 shift pattern.” Currid said that both printers were specified with Xerox’s Matte Dry Ink because they wanted to create a look for its short-run insert work, among other jobs, that was “nearer to litho and not the glossy look of digital print”, which he said was an industry-wide problem. The 364x660mm sheet size of the iGen4 also allowed the business to be more flexible and responsive to its clients needs while saving waste and time, Currid said. The company had chosen not to go for the iGen 150, despite its increased speed over the iGen4, simply because “the 150 wasn’t really tried and tested when we wanted to invest”, he explained. “We felt that when we came to get the second it would be a seamless transition if we stuck to the same model and that is exactly what it has proved to be.” However, he said that the company had visited the Xerox showroom this week to look at the iGen150 with the potential of an investment in the near future. “We are looking to grow our digital print arm by another 20% over the financial year which would bring us to £4.8m for the year and our output, including our two Xeikon 8000s, to around 8m A4 impressions per month,” he added. Howard Hunt is currently beta-testing a Kodak Prosper 5000XLi. The 5000 was installed in May 2011 and upgraded in February this year....