AURELIUS Equity Opportunities & : acquires Office Depot Europe

Munich / London, September 23, 2016 - AURELIUS Rho Invest DS GmbH, an AURELIUS subsidiary, today submitted a binding offer to acquire the European business activities of the US-based Office Depot, Inc. Once the usual consultation processes with various employee representative bodies at the Office Depot Group in France have been concluded, the seller will be able to conclude an already negotiated purchase agreement. The two parties have agreed on exclusivity during this period. The transaction, which is subject to the approval of the relevant anti-trust authorities and further closing conditions, is scheduled for completion in the next few months.

The approximately 6,500 employees working in the operations to be acquired booked revenues of around EUR 2 billion. This would make the acquisition the biggest to date in the history of AURELIUS in terms of revenues. The seller is Florida-based Office Depot, Inc., a vendor of office supplies and services. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price, the size and composition of which are aligned with previous AURELIUS transactions.

Office Depot Europe with strong brands and Europe-wide setup

Boasting a strong brand name and a loyal customer base, Office Depot Europe operates in 14 European countries across three main activities and brands: 'Viking', Contract and Retail. Under the prestigious 'Viking' brand the company is a leading vendor in six product areas: office supplies, printing and document services, paper, computers and printers, business services like facility management, and office furniture, with direct sales to over 1.2 million small and mid-sized firms in ten European countries via the online channel, mail order, and call centers. The main markets for 'Viking' are the region covering Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, plus the UK. The Contract segment, which boasts an attractive and loyal customer base together with a stable distribution network, maintains contracts to supply over 100,000 large business customers and corporations in the main markets in the UK, France, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The Retail segment sells products under the strong Office Depot brand to over 600,000 active customers in over 100 stores and online.

Huge potential for the AURELIUS operating model

The plan is to continue implementing the measures that have already been initiated to revitalize Office Depot Europe directly and partly through local partners and the management on the ground. The aim is to expand upon growth initiatives involving new product and service offerings and the pan-European distribution and logistics network and to push the e-commerce side of the business.

A telephone conference with the AURELIUS Executive Board will be held at 2pm on Monday, September 26, 2016 in English for interested investors and journalists. Please send an email to investor@aureliusinvest.deto register.