Transcontinental said the sale was part of a strategy to specialize only in certain types of book printing, primarily the educational markets in Québec, Canada and the US.

"The transaction follows the Fall 2011 transfer to Quad/Graphics of the monochrome and two-color book printing business destined for U.S. export and is part of the long-term business strategy of Transcontinental," company spokesperson Nancy Bouffard explained to PrintWeek in a brief interview.

"It will enable us to put greater emphasis in certain areas of specialization, namely the four-color web offset printing market."

Bouffard added that along with the plants and presses, Marquis will also be getting the clients from Louiseville and Sherbrooke. "Marquis Book Printing acquires responsibility for serving all the clients of both plants for the printing work that was traditionally done in these facilities, and principally the monochrome, two-color, and four-color books produced on sheetfed presses," she said.

In a statement announcing the sale, Transcontinental President/CEO François Olivier, said: "We thought long and hard before deciding to sell the assets of our Sherbrooke and Louiseville plants. Over the past several months we have made strategic decisions based on changes in the book printing market.

"We are sure that our one- and two-color book customers in Québec will continue to be well served by the new acquirer. For our part, we remain well positioned to respond to the demands of our customers who are looking for better marketing solutions in our areas of specialization, including educational book printing."