ESP, Kent printshop owned by the late David Cooke, purchased by McCallum of Seattle

A Seattle-based printing company has bought the print shop that former belonged to David Cooke, the late husband of Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke.

McCallum Print Group announced Nov. 17 that it completed the acquisition of the graphic assets, clients, programs and equipment of ESP Printing & Mailing.

According to Don Bailey of Shafer and Bailey, the firm handling the ESP bankruptcy, the price of the sale was $3.3 million.

McCallum Director of Sales Rick Fickel said Tuesday at least 30 employees would stay on the job in Kent and the 30,000-square-foot Kent facility would serve as McCallum’s web printing operation as support for the company’s 85,000-square-foot Seattle facility, which will continue to provide prepress services, digital and sheetfed print production, envelope manufacturing and bindery.

“This strategic acquisition is a great addition for McCallum Print Group as it expands our commercial web printing capabilities and allows us to provide an even greater range of production services to our customers,” Terry Storms, CEO, Principal at McCallum Print Group said in a press release. “

David Cooke served as president of ESP Printing until his June 17 suicide. Because David Cooke did not have a will and Suzette Cooke did not own any stock in the company, ownership did not pass to her. Bailey said Suzette Cooke was not involved in the sale and will not profit from it.

In October, ESP owed $6.45 million to a number of creditors, including $4.7 million to HomeStreet Bank of Seattle and $672,000 to xpedx of Atlanta.

According to Bailey, an auction house this fall estimated the liquidation value of the company at between $1.1 million and $1.3 million.

Bailey said the money from the sale will go to HomeStreet, one of the secure creditors of ESP while the rest of the creditors will not be paid, but Bailey said the “silver lining” is that the people selling materials still have a customer.

“It’s been a good result,” he said. “We’ve kept some people at work and that’s the important thing.”