Xiangzhou District, Zhuhai

A consortium of investors led by Zhuhai-based Apex Technology completed the acquisition of American printer and imaging products manufacturer Lexmark for approximately 26.88 billion yuan ($3.9 billion), on Nov 30.

The acquisition was settled after a year's negotiation, which started in 2015 at the Remax World Expo, the world's largest print consumables expo held every year in Zhuhai.

Apex makes a high-profile appearance at the Remax World Expo, held in Zhuhai's Xiangzhou District from Oct 13 to 15 in 2015. [Photo / apexmic.com]

Apex designs and manufactures inkjet and laser cartridge components and is headquartered in Xiangzhou District, Zhuhai. Its products are sold to more than 100 countries.

Despite having a turnover of $3.6 billion in 2015, Lexmark recorded losses of 2.61 billion due to the extensive purchase of patents.

After Lexmark announced its intentions this October, Apex proposed a purchase plan and finally won the takeover bid by using loans, private placement, EB (Exchangeable Bonds), and other financing methods.

Other bidders for Lexmark included Canon, HP, and Epson.

It's not the first large scale acquisition by Apex, last year the company spent $63 million acquiring 100 percent of the equity of American Static Control, the leading enterprise in the global print chips market.

"We finally set a key flag on our internationalization map," said Wang Dongying, chairman of the board of Apex, who expressed the company's goal to lead the print industry.

Zhuhai is often referred to as the print consumables capital of the world. The print industry is high up on the city's development agenda. It occupies 70 percent of global market share in colored tapes manufacturing and occupied 65 percent for compatible toner cartridges, reaching an annual sales volume of more than $2.9 billion in 2015.