Printing company R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. has announced that it will acquire financial data firm EDGAR Online for roughly $38.6 million, which would expand its digital product offering. Along with debt and a payment equal to the redemption price of its preferred shares, the deal is worth $70.5 million altogether, with shares at $1.092 a piece.
R.R. Donnelley’s services include printing labels and marketing tools, which will adapt EDGAR’s searchable, archived regulatory documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. EDGAR had been offerring its services to R.R. Donnelley since 2008, and the merger seemed likely, with the deal expected to close sometime in the third quarter. Though, regulators and EDGAR shareholders still need to review and approve the merger. Upon news of the acquisition, R.R. Donnelley $ Sons stock was down 14 cents at $10.28, and EDGAR stock was up to $1.07, or 35 cents.
Over the past couple of years, R.R. Donnelley acquired Bowne & Co., San Francisco-based Nimblefish Technologies, Helium.com, as well as Journalism Online. Since its inception, the Chicago-based company has steadily grown via a series of mergers and acquisitions, especially during the 1990’s.