Moore Business Forms (acquired by R.R. Donnelley & Sons)

CHICAGO -- In a move that would satisfy R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. 's quest both for growth and for a new chief executive, the printing giant agreed to acquire Moore Wallace Inc. for $2.8 billion in stock. Moore Corporation Limited was built upon the design and manufacture of a simple counter salesbook. As the world's largest maker of business forms throughout much of its history, Moore has continually redefined the business-forms industry, from the time its founder, Samuel J. Moore, launched the industry through the dominance of computers today. Samuel Moore emigrated to Canada from his native England as a young boy in 1861. He worked in the printing business throughout his teens; by his early 20s, he was the co-publisher of a Tory newsletter called The Grip. When Moore met John Carter, a local sales clerk, who described his idea for a salesbook using a piece of carbon paper to standardize sales slips and provide a record of transactions, Moore seized upon the idea, acquired rights to produce the salesbook, and hired Carter as his first sales representative. With the motto, "Let one writing serve many purposes" and an initial investment of only C&dollar2,500, the Paragon Black Leaf Counter Check Book went into production in 1882 at the Grip Printing & Publishing Company.