RAJA Group, a multi-channel mail order company for business equipment and supplies, has announced that it has reached an agreement with Aurelius Investment Group to acquire the Viking business, including the remaining Office Depot Europe portfolio, in seven European countries: United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Netherlands and Belgium. Viking, the flagship brand of Office Depot Europe's e-commerce activities, is a player in the BtoB distribution of office supplies and furniture. All of the company's activities in Europe employ 1,500 people and generate sales of almost 500 million euros. The financial terms of the agreement are not being made public.

The RAJA Group is Europe's leading packaging distributor with 3,000 employees in 18 European countries and a player in the office supplies and furniture market following the acquisition of the Staples business in Southern Europe in 2019: JPG, Mondoffice and Kalamazoo, French, Italian and Spanish specialists in workplace equipment. This acquisition is in line with the RAJA Group's strategy to increase sales, expand its customer base and diversify its offering. It will enable the Group to strengthen its positions and complete its geographical coverage in these strategic markets.

"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 will further expand the Group's presence and give new impetus to our ambitions in the office supplies market. This acquisition fits perfectly with our strategic vision of being a global partner for European companies, from small start-ups to large groups, and will strengthen our partnership with globally recognized brands," says Danièle Kapel-Marcovici, CEO of RAJA Group (pictured).

The American company, Viking Office Products, entered the European market in 1990, initially only in the UK, and has subsequently expanded its business throughout Europe. Thanks to its pioneering know-how in the field of distance selling, it revolutionized the distribution of office supplies by catalog. Following its acquisition by Office Depot in 1998 and by the German investment fund Aurelius in 2017, Viking is now a player in the office supplies and workplace equipment market.

The acquired companies, headquartered in Venlo in the Netherlands, serve 1.2 million customers in Europe and have two distribution centers in Großostheim in Germany and Leicester in the UK.

This acquisition provides the RAJA Group with growth opportunities in the coming years and a solid foundation to accelerate the development of the business in Europe. It will enable the Group to serve more than 2.2 million customers in Europe and generate sales of more than EUR 1.6 billion.

"Viking has more than 30 years of experience in Europe and understands the needs and expectations of customers in its markets. The employees of Viking and RAJA Group share the same values of entrepreneurial spirit and customer service culture that have made us successful. Together, we will regain the momentum for profitable growth for Viking by leveraging our combined expertise in attracting and retaining European customers and our ability to realize synergies in purchasing, marketing and sales, particularly with JPG, Mondoffice and Kalamazoo, but also with RAJA's subsidiaries in each country. I am delighted to welcome the 1,500 new employees with their recognized skills and professionalism to the RAJA Group. Together we will form an even more successful team to position the RAJA Group as the leading partner for companies in Europe," says Danièle Kapel-Marcovici.

Raffael Reinhold, CEO of Office Depot Europe: "We are very excited about this opportunity and look forward to accelerating our activities within the RAJA Group. As an independent and successful family business, the RAJA Group offers an excellent basis for the future of our company with great potential for successful cooperation and development. The strategic refocus on our core markets and activities has made our business attractive to our strategic buyer RAJA and offers an excellent position to jointly drive our business forward."

The transaction is subject to antitrust approval and is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2021.