Pyramid International has bought framed print producer The Art Group out of administration.
Pyramid International, a Leicester-based supplier of posters, calendars and button badges, bought a selection of the assets of The Art Group from KPMG for an undisclosed sum, after the business went in administration on 28 June.
The Art Group supplies framed prints on behalf of museums and galleries such as the Tate and the British Museum.
The company has undergone three private equity-backed buy-outs since it was founded. ISIS Equity Partners bought The Art Group from Apax, 3i, Prudential and Graphite in 2003, when it was valued at £19 million. After experiencing financial difficulties, it was then acquired by turnaround investor RCapital, before again running into trouble.
Pyramid plans to develop the wall art, greetings cards and ‘art on demand’ businesses of The Art Group, ‘without the massive overhead that the previous operation suffered with in terms of production and warehousing’, according to a statement from the company.
The acquired business operates touchscreen kiosks in the shops of museums and galleries which enable customers to order reproductions of famous artworks.
