Staples Solutions signed an agreement to sell its Italian, French and Spanish business units to RAJA, S.A.
At the end of July, Staples Solutions B.V. announced that it has entered into an agreement with European distributor of packaging supplies and equipment for businesses RAJA, S.A., to purchase Staples Solutions’ business units in France, Italy, and Spain.
Staples Solutions’ explained that its acceptance of the binding offer is subject to completion of certain employee representatives consultation and regulatory procedures. The businesses in question, which have a combined turnover of €320 million ($358 million), operate under the brands JPG, Bernard, MondOffice, and Kalamazoo.
“The intended transaction reinforces our focus on growing our core business-to-business (B2B) contracts business, serving mid-size to large enterprise customers as well as public institutions. Our businesses in France, Italy and Spain are strong catalogue and online businesses. RAJA is a very strong strategic partner for our Southern business, with deep expertise in multichannel strategy towards all types of customer segments and activities, as well as a very complementary product offering. We believe that the intended transaction is in the best interest of Staples Solutions, our customers, our employees, and our partners,” stated Dolph Westerbos, Chief Executive Officer at Staples Solutions.
“Focusing on one core business model allows us to build a more robust company. The intended transaction will provide us with greater flexibility to pursue opportunities in the B2B space – ultimately helping our customers accomplish more,” Westerbos added.
“This intended acquisition of four leading companies represents a major opportunity for the RAJA Group. With the significant increase of our total product offering, it will accelerate the implementation of our strategy to become a global supplier for our customers, from small businesses to large international corporations. This intended transaction will strengthen our leading position and complement our strong organic growth,” stated Danièle Kapel-Marcovici, President and Chief Executive Officer of the RAJA Group.
The intended transaction is expected to close in October 2019.
