The President and CEO of Lexington-based Lexmark says the sale of the company to a consortium of Chinese investors will not affect the core mission of the printer and software solutions firm and will have a minimal impact on the 2,300 workers currently employed at the home facility. Paul Rooke spoke to WUKY earlier this morning.
"Our headquarters will remain here in Lexington. Think of us as remaining a U.S. multi-national that will have different ownership," Rooke said. "We'll be here in Lexington. I expect to lead it. Our business units will remain unaffected. We expect very few, if any Lexmark positions to be impacted by the transaction."
On Tuesday the company announced it was being purchased for 3.6 billion dollars by APEX Technology and PAG Asia Capital. APEX manufactures cartridges for both inkjet and laser printers and has expressed a desire to expand internationally.
"It's a win, win," Rooke said. "We bring a deep leadership technology across products and services, the strength of our people, and the consortium brings wonderful access into China and greater Asia, which China is by most accounts the second largest economy on the planet. So, it's a wonderful complementary relationship that will provide growth opportunities for our team," Rooke added.
The deal is expected to close later this year. Lexmark has been struggling to adjust to a change in the technology climate. In October, the company announced that it was exploring its options and hired Goldman Sachs to provide the company with advice. In February Lexmark announced it was cutting about 550 jobs or about 4 percent of its worldwide work force.