Bloomberg Reports That Lexmark May Be Up For Sale Again

According to a September 25th Bloomberg news article, Lexmark International may again be up for sale.

The company, which was spun off of IBM in 1991, was acquired by Ninestar Corporation (then known as Apex Technology) of Zhuhia, China, and Asian private equity firm PAG in 2016 for $3.6 billion.

According to Bloomberg, Lexmark’s “owners are considering a sale of the laser-printer maker, people with knowledge of the matter said.” Those sources said Lexmark could sell for between $1.8 billion to $2 billion.

After being acquired in 2016, Lexmark’s new owners then sold its enterprise software business to private equity firm Thoma Bravo. 

The Bloomberg article says “deliberations are at an early stage, and there’s no certainty they will lead to a transaction.” 

Ninestar has been financially hard hit by an 2023 U.S. embargo that’s kept many of its products out of the U.S. Lexmark products have not been affected by the embargo however.

In March 2023, Ninestar had announced that Lexmark was selling – and then leasing back – some facilities, including some in Lexington, Kentucky. Lexmark expected the sale to generate nearly $189.6 million, with proceeds going to Lexmark.

We reached out to Lexmark, which sent us the following statement:

“Lexmark is an operationally and financially independent U.S.-based company headquartered in Lexington, Ky. Our investors have not announced any actions or decisions, and we cannot comment on speculation. Lexmark’s focus is, and will remain to be, providing exceptional products and services to our customers and partners. As always, any significant developments that may impact or benefit our customers, partners or business will be communicated through official channels.”