The Raja Group continues to expand and takes over the European Office Depot Europe business from the Aurelius investment group.
16 August 2021
(Image: Raja Group)
The Raja Group continues to expand and takes over the European Office Depot Europe business from the Aurelius investment group.
Packaging retailer Raja has reached an agreement with the Aurelius Investment Group on the acquisition of the Viking business. It includes the remaining Office Depot Europe portfolio. Office Depot Europe is present in the DACH region as well as in Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland and the UK. Viking, the brand of Office Depot Europe's e-commerce activities, is a player in the B2B distribution of office supplies and furniture.
According to the company, the acquired companies, which are headquartered in Venlo, the Netherlands, generate a Turnover of almost 500 million euros. In Europe, the company has two large distribution centres in Großostheim in Germany and Leicester in the UK, which serve around 1.2 million customers in Europe. The financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.
Raja Group pursues European development strategy
The Raja Group intends to use the acquisition to accelerate its business development in Europe. According to the company, it expects to generate sales of more than 1.6 billion euros with more than 2.2 million customers in Europe.
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(Image: RAJA Group)
„This acquisition represents a great strategic opportunity to strengthen our positions in Europe, especially in these seven countries where we are already present with our Raja subsidiaries. It fits perfectly with our strategic vision, to be a global partner for European companies, from small start-ups to large corporations, and will strengthen our partnership with globally recognised brands.“ Danièle Kapel-Marcovici, CEO Raja Group
In future, the Raja Group intends to utilise its joint expertise to acquire and retain European customers. It also intends to utilise synergies in purchasing, marketing and sales, particularly with JPG, Mondoffice and Kalamazoo, but also with the RajaA subsidiaries in the individual countries. The transaction is still subject to antitrust approval. It is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2021.
[infotext icon]The American company Viking Office Products entered the European market in 1990. Following its acquisition by Office Depot in 1998 and by the German investment fund Aurelius in 2017, Viking is now a major player in the office supplies and workplace equipment market.
