Office Depot AU & NZ May Expect New Buyer

New development has occurred in the sale of OfficeMax, owned by Office Depot, in Australia and New Zealand.

According to opi.net, Complete Office Supplies (COS) is showing interest in OfficeMax and is reaching an agreement with its owner Office Depot.

Three months ago, RT Media has reported that Office Depot has agreed to sell its business to Platinum Equity (PE), which also acquired Staples a month before. The American equity investment firm has since intended to merge the two largest office supplies companies.

Ahttps://www.rtmworld.com/2d/news/another-office-supplies-giant-exits-aussie-and-nz-market/ustralian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) are currently reviewing the plans which would result in Platinum holding up to 90% of the B2B market in Australia and New Zealand – 10 times more than their closest competitors which include Complete Office Supplies (COS).

However, COS, the potential new owner of the office stores, reportedly object to the merger in NZ and is expected to seek a court injunction. The company is indicating that it plans to refuse or postpone the proposed merger. On Thursday, they alerted the ACCC to its pending bid for Office Max and are expected to make an offer with Office Depot by the end of the week.

The ACCC has set a provisional date of September 14 for a ruling on the COS deal which will result in a final decision or the release of a statement of issues.