The Times plant at Warkworth, North of Auckland
PMP NZ has acquired the printing assets of Times Media Group. Based in Warkworth, the Times Media Group has been owned by the Cook family since 1917. The family has assets in both printing and newspaper publishing.
Tony Cook, owner and managing director of Times Media Group, says his company has been proudly serving the Rodney district for almost 90 years but the time has come to sell this part of the business.
"We felt it was the best move for our company to sell. I’m pleased we’ve sold to a solid company like PMP that has the ability to look after the interests of customers and staff as well as strengthen and grow the business," Mr Cook says.
PMP New Zealand chief executive, Rodger Shepherd, says the acquisition is an attractive addition to PMP’s existing business.
"The two big customers of Times, Fairfax and ACP, are both very supportive of the acquisition and have made long-term commitments to PMP. This gives us confidence that the acquisition will be successful for PMP and our customers.
"Times Colour Printing will complement our existing business, not just in printing but also in the range of media services we now offer to our print customers and to the wider market including distribution, sheet-fed printing, targeted marketing and related marketing services. We will be marketing that broader offer to Times customers," he says.
The acquisition includes PMP NZ taking on all of Times Media Group’s 200 staff in the printing business under their current conditions.
PMP will take over the management of Times Media Group’s printing assets from October 1st.
This is the latest in a series of acquisitions for PMP New Zealand over the past year as the group continues to expand its media services offering, including magazine subscription company Magazzino Subscriptions, Gordon & Gotch, real estate print-solutions business Maxum and sheet-fed printing company Printworld.
