W&G Baird, the largest commercial printing company in Northern Ireland, has bought a British electronic printing specialist in a deal estimated to be worth almost £10 million sterling (€16 million).

The acquisition-hungry Antrim group has added Corporate Document Services, a Leeds-based printer to its stable of companies in a deal which industry sources say is its largest to date.

W&G Baird is one of the North's oldest printing groups, founded in 1862. It employs more than 650 at a number of sites in Northern Ireland and the UK. The group was owned by the British Printing Corporation until 1970 when the current chairman, Mr Roy Bailie, led a management buy-out. Mr Bailie is also chairman of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board.

The company remains in the hands of Mr Bailie and a number of private shareholders.

Ten years ago W&G Baird had a turnover of £7 million per annum; the group is on target to have a turnover in excess of £45 million this year.