Print joint venture heads towards Ricoh ownership

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 05 June 2007 03:56

IT Industry - Strategy

IBM's Printing Systems Division is now InfoPrint Solutions Company, a joint venture with Ricoh owning 51 percent of the company.

The company will progressively move into Ricoh's hands, reaching 100 percent ownership in three years.

IBM has hived off other aspects of its hardware operations over the years. Its low-end printing business became Lexmark, and more recently its notebook and desktop PC business was sold to Lenovo.

IBM received $US725 million from the transaction, including payment and prepayment for the joint venture and for royalties and services to be provided. The final price will be adjusted at the end of the three years.

The joint venture has begun operating in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, the UK and the US. Operations in other countries are expected to shift to InfoPrint Solutions in the third quarter.

Hardware maintenance will remain in IBM's hands for the next year, after which its printer maintenance specialists may move to InfoPrint Solutions.

"With this launch, we have created a billion-dollar enterprise with the backing of two undisputed industry leaders, IBM and Ricoh. Together, we will drive the next generation of innovation in output solutions," said Tony Romero, CEO and president, InfoPrint Solutions Company.

"Our plans for the joint venture include greater investment in research and development, enhancing our professional services capabilities, and increasing the size of our sales and support organization. Our intense focus on strategic output management means our current and future customers will benefit from a new level of products, services, and solutions built to address their business needs."

Managed printing services are becoming increasingly important. While they have always been significant in mainframe printing and photocopying, companies such as Canon and Hewlett-Packard have been promoting this model in the PC market.