U.S. printing services provider RR Donnelley said on May 13 it wanted to acquire bankrupt Canadian rival Quebecor World for $1.35 billion.
Donnelley said its proposal offered Quebecor World's debtors and its creditors "superior terms" following the company's revamp plans submitted as part of ongoing bankruptcy proceedings in the U.S. and Canada.
"Our offer would significantly enhance our ability to provide customers more comprehensive end-to-end printing solutions, expand our geographic reach into the important Canadian market and better balance our capacity with customer demand," said Donnelley CEO Thomas Quinlan.
Quebecor World is the world's second-biggest printing company, handling mass-sellers such as the Harry Potter books in Canada and People magazine in the U.S.
It employs 28,000 people worldwide and had a debt pile of more than two billion dollars when it sought bankruptcy protection in January 2008.
The Montreal-based company announced in early April it had reached an agreement in principle with its creditors on a restructuring plan.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009
