<PAGE> 1
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) March 3, 1998 (February 27,
1998).
GENERAL BINDING CORPORATION
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware 0-2604 36-0887470
-------- ------ ----------
(State or other juris- (Commission (IRS Employer
diction of in- File Number) Identification No.)
corporation)
One GBC Plaza
Northbrook, Illinois 60062
-------------------- -----
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code (847) 272-3700
<PAGE> 2
Form 8-K Current Report
For the Month of February, 1998
Item 5. Other Events.
On February 27, 1998 the Registrant announced that it had completed its
acquisition of all of the capital stock of Ibico, AG, based in Zurich,
Switzerland. The Registrant had previously reported on Form 8-K dated October
20, 1997 its intentions to complete this purchase.
Item 7. Exhibits.
1. Press Release of February 27, 1998.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
General Binding Corporation
---------------------------
(Registrant)
Date: March 3, 1998 /s/ Steven Rubin
---------------------------
Steven Rubin,
Vice President, Secretary
and General Counsel
<PAGE> 1
EXHIBIT 99.1
[ GBC NEWS LETTERHEAD ]
Contact: Paul J. Bors
Corporate Treasurer
(847) 291-6187
GBC COMPLETES IBICO ACQUISITION
Northbrook, IL, February 27, 1998 -- General Binding Corporation (NASDAQ:
GBND) today announced it had completed the acquisition of Ibico AG, a
privately-held manufacturer and marketer of document binding and laminating
products. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, Ibico's 1997 worldwide sales
were approximately $117 million. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Ibico manufactures, sources, and distributes binding machines and
supplies, laminators and laminating films, and calculators. It services
worldwide markets, with a concentration of sales in Europe and the U.S. through
the superstore, wholesale, catalog and distributor channels. The company has
manufacturing facilities in Germany, Portugal and Mexico and distribution
centers in twelve countries. Its products will continue to be marketed under
the Ibico brand name, and the company will become part of GBC's Office Products
Group, headed by Group President Howard Green.
According to GBC President and CEO Govi Reddy, "the Ibico acquisition will
provide GBC with greater critical mass to respond to the needs of its
significant office products customers, particularly within their consolidating
channels of distribution. It brings established relationships with existing
and new key customers, a manufacturing base and strong market presence in
Europe to strengthen existing GBC operations, access to new products and
technologies, additional purchasing and manufacturing leverage, and
highly-capable individuals to strengthen our global management team."
Reddy said that the Ibico acquisition "further underscores GBC's
commitment to strengthening its position in its various markets, and we
continue to look for opportunities to expand our product lines, extend our
geographic scope, realize synergies in product development, manufacturing and
distribution, and leverage purchasing power to reduce costs for our customers
through internal growth and strategic acquisitions," adding that "combining
Ibico's sales with
more...
<PAGE> 2
GBC's 1997 sales of $700 million puts us on course to profitably reach $1
billion of revenues ahead of our target date of the year 2000."
GBC is an innovative global technology leader in document finishing, paper
shredding systems, film laminating and visual communications products. GBC's
products are marketed under the GBC, Quartet, Ibico, VeloBind, Shredmaster,
Bates, Sickinger, Pro-Tech, Fordigraph and U.S. RingBinder brand names and are
used in the commercial, business, education, home office and government
markets.
###
The foregoing forward-looking statements are based upon various
assumptions, and certain risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to
differ materially from those stated. GBC assumes no obligation to update its
forward-looking statements.
