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DWF advises entrepreneur on acquisition of European printing group CPI

30 April 2019
Global legal business DWF has represented the Private Wealth Office of entrepreneur Richard Hughes and his family (RHWO) in the acquisition of the largest monochrome book printer group in Europe, CPI.  

Paris-based CPI is renowned for its innovation, being the first European printer to have significantly invested in digital inkjet printing, printing more than 450 million books every year. With 16 factories based across five European countries, the company employs 2,800 staff. It has been acquired from parent company Circle Media Group (CMG).

Richard Hughes has a highly successful track record of investing directly and indirectly across multiple sectors, and was previously a founder and non-executive director of boohoo.com, the UK based online fashion retailer. Managing his and his family’s private wealth and investments through RHWO, he is one of the UK's most successful investors.

DWF's team was led by national head of corporate Frank Shephard and included legal specialists in the UK, Germany, France and Belgium.

Simon Ashton, chairman at RHWO, said: "Our wealth-management fund understands that CPI needs a nimble structure and strong financial position to keep its lead in the books market. Frank and the team from DWF have supported us in this cross-border transaction which will be an excellent building block to further growth, both in Europe and beyond.”

Frank Shephard said: "We are delighted to have advised RHWO on the purchase of CPI which has great potential to build on its global presence. We look forward to watching the business develop under its new ownership. The deal demonstrates again DWF's ability to transact on a multi-jurisdictional basis."

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