Singapore Post today announced the acquisition of a Hong Kong-based digital and printing servicescompany in its latest business diversification move.
SingPost said it is acquiring Novation Solutions Limited for US$9.8 million through itswholly-owned subsidiary DataPost Pte Ltd. The Hong Kong-based company, with some 400 staff, is alsopresent in China.
Novation is a full-service security printing, document management and transaction mailprovider in Hong Kong. Its core services are document printing, which includes security andcommercial printing and print-related services, comprising variable-data print (VDP) and electronicdirect marketing services.
Wolfgang Baier, SingPost’s Group Chief Executive Officer, said: “In transforming SingPost, wehave identified digital services as one of our five key business pillars. This acquisition is inline with our strategy to grow our digital and hybrid mail business locally and in the region.”
He added: “With this acquisition, we will leverage our combined expertise for expansion intodocument management and digital printing. Novation will provide us with a platform for entry intoVDP, insurance documents printing and other related services namely security printing and documentdigitisation in China and to expand our footprint in Hong Kong.”
Over the years, SingPost has been expanding its digital and hybrid mail business in theregion. In 2011, it acquired the remaining 30 per cent stake in DataPost from the latter’s othershareholder, making it into a wholly-owned subsidiary. The same year, it acquired a 20.82 per centstake in Efficient, a Malaysian company which has its core business in Business ProcessOutsourcing.
DataPost offers a range of digital and printing services, including hybrid mail and digitalarchiving, to major customers such as banks, insurance companies, government agencies and telcos.The company is active in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore.
