Jarden To Acquire Jostens Owner Visant Holding Corp. For $1.5 Billion

Consumer goods company Jarden Corp. has agreed to acquire Visant Holding Corp. from investment funds managed by KKR & Co., aPriori Capital Partners, and other stockholders for $1.5 billion, according to a release. Visant is parent company to Jostens Inc., the brand best known for its school yearbooks, caps and gowns, diplomas and other graduation items. The company, founded in 1897, generates about $740 million in revenue annually. Jostens will report as part of Jarden's Outdoor Solutions Segment which, for the 12 months ended June 30, 2015, would have reported revenue totalling about $10 billion, the release said. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2015. Jarden stock is up 5.9% for the year so far. The S&P is down 2.9% for the same period.