UK-based print, display and marketing services company St Ives made an undisclosed investment on Thursday to acquire a 15.8% stake in the Evolved Group, a company which produces e-book conversion software under the name of Easypress Technologies.
Founded in 1998, Easypress develops software which enables users to create, publish and manage content across multiple media platforms. St Ives presently operates a publishing solutions business known as Clays, which produces more than 160 million books a year.
St Ives acquired retail and consumer consultancy Pragma Holdings and data marketing firm Response One Holdings in September, following its acquisition of 90% of the issued share capital of field sales and marketing company Tactical Solutions in February.
In addition to the stake purchase, St Ives also secured a right of first refusal should Evolved sell all or part of the remaining equity in the business. St Ives disposed of its magazine business in March and has stated more than once this year that it plans to build a complementary range of digital and marketing services while reducing its exposure in the print side of its business.