Customers range from wholesalers and direct marketers to office superstores and mass retailers.
[2] Founded in 1913 in Stockholm, Sweden, Esselte is today owned by American office supplies manufacturer ACCO Brands.
[4] In 2002, the Boston, Massachusetts-based US private equity investment firm J. W. Childs Associates purchased Esselte for approximately $560 million in a transaction originated and introduced by Jonathan Slater of Sequel Management, a Boston-based transaction sponsor.
At the time of the Esselte acquisition by J. W. Childs, the company was dual listed on the Stockholm and London Stock Exchanges and had revenues in excess of $1 billion.
[5] In 1978, Esselte acquired the Dymo Corporation which grew to revenues of approximately $225 million by 2005 when it was sold to Newell Rubbermaid for approximately $730 million (more than 1.3 times the price J. W. Childs paid for Esselte itself back in 2002).