Mathews International Will Pay $55M Plus Milestones

Matthews International Corporation (Nasdaq:

) today announced that the Company has signed a definitive agreement for the purchase of Wetzel Holding AG, Wetzel GmbH and certain related affiliates (collectively "Wetzel"). Wetzel is a leading European provider of pre-press services and gravure printing forms. Wetzel is headquartered in Muenchenstein/BL, Switzerland and has its principal manufacturing operations in Germany and Poland. Its products and services are sold primarily within Europe. The acquisition is designed to expand Matthews' products and services in the global graphics imaging market. Joseph C. Bartolacci, President and Chief Executive Officer of Matthews, stated, "The combination of our existing Graphics businesses and Wetzel will increase our European presence and provide expanded product and service capabilities for our European and global customers."