Aurelius sells Office Depot Europe to trade

Aurelius acquired Office Depot Europe in September 2016 from its US-headquartered parent company.

Under Aurelius's ownership, Office Depot Europe sold several subsidiaries and contract divisions to trade buyers. These deals included the sale of its Italian operations to France-based online office supplier Bruneau, which Equistone sold to Towerbrook in July 2021. Further divestments included the company's activities in eastern and northern Europe.

The sale to Raja therefore comprises the company's remaining activities in north-western Europe, namely its operations in the Benelux region, the DACH region, the UK and Ireland.

Aurelius said in a statement that it invested in the company's e-commerce activities during the investment period, which involved shifting its focus to its Viking brand. Viking now generates around 90% of its revenues via online sales, according to a statement.

The GP announced that it had raised its first fund for institutional investors in April 2021, as reported.

Company
Office Depot Europe provides office supplies for businesses, including computers and printers. In addition, the company provides services such as printing and documents, facilities management, and integrated office services. The company operates via its contract division and a retail division, focusing on north-western Europe. It is headquartered in Venlo in the Netherlands.

The company was formed under the Viking brand in 1990, which was acquired by US-headquartered Office Depot in 1998. Office Depot Europe employs 1,500 staff and generates revenues of almost EUR 500m. The company posted turnover of EUR 2bn and EBITDA of EUR 45m at the time of its acquisition by Aurelius in 2016, with 6,500 staff.

People
Aurelius – Fritz Seemann (executive director).
Office Depot Europe – Raffael Reinhold (CEO).
Raja Group – Danièle Kapel-Marcovici (CEO).

Advisers
Vendor – PwC (M&A); Deloitte (financial due diligence); Jones Day (legal).
Acquirer – KPMG (financial due diligence); Allen & Overy (legal).

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• Topics
• Exits
• Benelux
• Consumer
• Netherlands
• Trade sale
• Aurelius Equity Opportunities