Repays Term Loans in Their Entirety

NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwire) -- 08/12/09 -- Bowne & Co., Inc. (NYSE: BNE), a global leader in shareholder and marketing communications services, today announced the closing of its public offering of 10.5 million shares of common stock, at an offering price of $5.96 per share. The Company also announced that the net proceeds of the offering, which amounted to approximately $59 million, have been used to repay its term loans in their entirety, with the remaining net proceeds used to repay a portion of its borrowings under its revolving credit facility. The repayment of the term loans and the portion of the revolving credit facility is effective today.

Goldman, Sachs & Co. served as the sole underwriter for this offering, and the shares were issued pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement that was previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A prospectus supplement related to the offering was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and is available on the SEC's website, http://www.sec.gov. Copies of the final prospectus supplement and accompanying base prospectus related to this offering may be obtained from Goldman, Sachs & Co. via telephone: (866) 471-2526; facsimile: (212) 902-9316; email: prospectus-ny@ny.email.gs.com; or standard mail at Goldman, Sachs & Co., Prospectus Department, 85 Broad Street, New York, NY 10004.

This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction.

About Bowne & Co., Inc.

Bowne & Co., Inc. (NYSE: BNE) provides shareholder and marketing communications services around the world. Dealmakers rely on Bowne to handle critical transactional communications with speed and accuracy. Compliance professionals turn to Bowne to prepare and file regulatory and shareholder communications online and in print. Investment managers and third party fund administrators count on Bowne's integrated solutions to streamline their document processes and produce high quality communications for their shareholders. Marketers look to Bowne to create and distribute customized, one-to-one communications on demand. With 2,800 employees in 50 offices around the globe, Bowne has met the ever-changing demands of its clients for more than 230 years.