Smiths buys rival in £20m deal

Smiths said Dawson’s largest trading division – Dawson Books, which supplies to 80 per cent of the country’s universities – would provide an established eBook platform for its own book wholesaler Bertrams.

In addition, the acquisition of Dawson – which employs 408 staff – will help Smiths and its subsidiaries tap into new markets including universities and airlines.

Smiths is proposing to transfer a number of Dawson’s staff to its own locations in Norwich, Swindon and Bradford and warned staff who do not transfer would be at risk of redundancy. The proposals will be subject to consultation and there will be no immediate changes.

Dawson can be traced back to the early 19th century and has three divisions – Dawson Books, Dawson Media Direct, which supplies newspapers and magazines to airlines, and Dawson Marketing Services.

Dawson is best known for its newspaper and magazine distribution business, which it put into administration two years ago.

Dawson News lost millions of pounds worth of contracts from the likes of Trinity Mirror, News International, Telegraph Media Group and Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers.

The assets of Dawson News were snapped up by rivals including Smiths News and John Menzies for around £2m in 2009. The remaining three divisions at Dawson will be sold to Smiths News subject to shareholder approval.

Hugh Cawley, Dawson chief executive, said: “The offer follows the board’s successful restructuring and turnaround plan.”