F&N's Times Publishing acquires 60% of Print Lab

MAINBOARD-LISTED Fraser and Neave's (F&N) Times Publishing unit is taking a 60 per cent stake in a printing company, in a conditional share purchase agreement inked and disclosed on Monday.

The wholly owned Times Publishing will pay S$24.48 million in cash for the stake in end-to-end printing, events and visual media solutions provider Print Lab, which will become an indirect subsidiary of F&N.

That price tag, which took into account Print Lab's net asset value and earnings, is subject to post-completion cash and debt adjustments, said F&N.

It also noted that the net asset value of the sale shares is about S$6.35 million, based on audited financial statements for the year to Dec 31, 2018.

The planned acquisition - which is carried out with the view that Print Lab and Times Publishing have complementary businesses - is not expected to have a material effect on the group's net asset value or earnings per share for this financial year, F&N added.

The counter lost S$0.02, or 1.12 per cent, to S$1.77, before the announcement.