Cimpress, the Dutch parent company of Waltham, Massachusetts, distributor Vistaprint (PPAI 565755), and San Diego, California-based distributor National Pen Co. LLC (PPAI 107176), has entered into an agreement to acquire BuildASign, an internet-based provider of canvas-print wall décor, business signage and other large-format printed products. Under the terms of the agreement, Cimpress will acquire approximately 99 percent of BuildASign with a total valuation of roughly $280 million. Subject to various closing conditions, Cimpress expects the deal to close as early as October.

“We are excited to welcome BuildASign to Cimpress,” says Robert Keane, president and chief executive officer of Cimpress. “They bring strong talent, a customer-centric culture, low-cost production operations and strong e-commerce capabilities that work seamlessly together to serve customers with market-leading prices, fast delivery and great customer service."

In a statement, BuildASign says it will operate in a decentralized, autonomous manner, leveraging Cimpress’ strategic capabilities when they are valuable to BuildASign’s customer value proposition and financial returns. Keane adds, “Cimpress will bring a long-term investment horizon, substantial procurement synergies and our mass customization platform (MCP) technology capabilities. These added strengths will accelerate BuildASign’s already-fast growth in home décor and reinforce their market position with business signage.”

The company also reports an opportunity for Vistaprint to turn to BuildASign’s low-cost canvas print fulfillment operations for a substantial portion of its growing home décor revenue that is currently outsourced to other third-party fulfillers. With its similar product lines, BuildASign also complements the signage business of Cimpress’ other businesses, including Upload and Print and Vistaprint.

Bryan Kranik, BuildASign’s chief executive officer, says, "We are excited to be entering this next chapter for BuildASign, and are thrilled about the opportunities that joining Cimpress will create for our customers and team members. Through a combination of our large format expertise and Cimpress’ procurement scale and MCP technology, we look forward to continuing to grow in large markets by allowing our customers to express their identity across a wide variety of products.”