Platinum to buy OfficeMax business in Australia, New Zealand

The transaction comes just a month after Platinum’s purchase of the Australia and New Zealand operations of Office Depot’s rival Staples. As in that deal, financial terms have not been disclosed. Both transactions are subject to regulatory approval and expected to close in the next few months.

OfficeMax was founded in 1988 in Florida and currently operates in North America, Europe and Asia. The company entered Australia and New Zealand through its former parent company, Boise Cascade Office Products Corporation, which bought OfficeMax and took its name in 2003, passing the brand on to its operations in the two countries.

OfficeMax merged with Office Depot in 2013 in a $1.17 billion all-stock deal. Office Depot and OfficeMax continue to operate as separate brands in the US and overseas, though the Office Depot brand itself is not present in Australia or New Zealand. OfficeMax has 28 locations across both countries.

Office Depot announced in 2015 that Staples had agreed to buy the company, but the plan was dropped last year after the US Federal Trade Commission won a court ruling to block the acquisition. As a result the two companies decided to sell their international divisions and refocus on the core North American markets.

In its most recent annual report, Office Depot recorded revenue of $11 billion for the 2016 financial year, down from 11.7 billion the previous year. Over the same period pre-tax profit grew from $8 million to $529 million. However, the international division – including the Australia and New Zealand operations – reported a $150 million loss for the year, up from an $8 million loss the prior year.

In a statement, Platinum did not comment on its plans for OfficeMax. When it acquired Staples’ Australia and New Zealand division the firm said it planned to continue the Staples brand for a short time before transitioning to a new corporate brand. Given the newest acquisition OfficeMax would presumably be a part of such a brand.

However, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has stated that it will conduct a public review to assess the effects of merging OfficeMax and Staples in the country. The ACCC already performed the same review on Staples’ proposed takeover of Office Depot in 2015, ultimately concluding the deal would not threaten competition in the market, but said it needed to review the proposal again given changing circumstances.

Platinum claims to have more than $11 billion in assets under management and a portfolio of about 30 companies worldwide. The GP’s previous transactions in Australia include the purchase of Sensis, the directories business of the country’s biggest phone company Telstra Corporation.

The firm has also been active in Asia recently, with investments in the last year including the purchase of two Chinese manufacturing units from Singapore’s Broadway Industrial Group for S$150 million ($111 million) in August. The firm also exited US-headquartered labels manufacturer Mactac to Japanese adhesives producer Lintec Corporation for $375 million in October.

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• Topics
• Australasia
• Consumer
• Buyouts
• Australia
• New Zealand
• Platinum Equity
• buyout