A deal to sell Kinko’s was almost like photocopying money – creating an almost 300 percent profit of $1.3 billion for its owners.
It took seven years for buyout firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice to make its killing on Kinko’s, which was sold yesterday to FedEx for $2.4 billion, tripling Clayton Dubilier’s original $500 million investment.
After the buyout group acquired the struggling Kinko’s in 1996, it built new management with help of Clayton Dubilier’s partners and streamlined operations at its 1,200 copy centers.
FedEx paid a huge premium for the chain, which was valued at less than half the sale price, or around $1.04 billion, during a recapitalization this past January.
FedEx intends to open parcel distribution counters at each Kinko’s shop.
Clayton Dubilier owned 75 percent of Kinko’s, and J.P. Morgan owned 20 percent. The rest was held by smaller investors.
The Kinko’s project was Clayton Dubilier’s second most profitable investment in its 25-year history. Its biggest gain was a $1.5 billion profit on its seven-year stake in food distributor Alliant Foodservice, which was sold in 2001 to Royal Ahold NV.
The buyout firm, whose special partners include former GE chief Jack Welch, has made some losing bets, too.