San Diego-based National Pen Co. LLC, a maker and marketer of writing instruments and other customized products for promotional purposes, has been acquired by Dutch company Cimpress N.V. The company, which employs 200 people locally, will remain in San Diego.
Under an agreement announced Dec. 12, Cimpress will pay $218 million to buy all outstanding equity interests in National Pen.
National Pen, founded 50 years ago, has locations in the United States, France, Ireland and Mexico. It produces an array of products, from pens and flashlights to hats, for some 1.5 million customers in 24 countries.
Peter Kelly, National Pen’s president and chief executive officer, said, “We believe our industry is at the beginning of a period of disruptive shift to e-commerce, and we are thrilled about the opportunities that joining Cimpress will create for our customers and team members.”
Cimpress estimated National Pen’s 2016 revenues at $275 million. It said the San Diego company has developed processes allowing it to turn out large numbers of very small orders of customized products.
“National pen has tremendous mass customization and related supply chain capabilities with which they deliver an unrivaled breadth and depth of customizable writing instruments with low minimum order quantities that meet the low-volume needs of small businesses,” Cimpress President and CEO Robert Keane said in a news release.
Cimpress produces more than 46 million customized items per year across 20 brands, including apparel and gifts.
