The Acquisition of NEBS - Inside A "Deluxe" Deal

After more than a year of tentative moves, a month of phone tag, and three offers and two refusals, on May 17, 2004, Deluxe Corporation and New England Business Service (NEBS) signed a merger agreement worth $630 million dollars, to combine the two companies into a $2 billion provider of business products and services.

Deluxe, founded in 1915, employees approximately 5,400 employees will acquire NEBS, which as been serving small-business customers since 1952 and employees about 4,000 people. Combining NEBS non-check offerings with Deluxe's business services segment will deliver a broad range of products and services to more than 6 million small-business customers.

How did this agreement come about?

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