ALEMANIA – Aurelius Equity Opportunities SE & Co. KGaA has completed its acquisition of the European operations of the U.S. company Office Depot, Inc. 

The approximately 6,000 employees working in the acquired operations booked revenues of around EUR 2 billion. The purchase price was not disclosed but in terms of revenues this makes the acquisition the biggest to date in the history of Aurelius and with it the Aurelius Group now has 23 consolidated subsidiaries generating annualized consolidated revenues of around EUR 4,5 billion.

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, Benelux/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.