Cataloger/retailer Office Depot has offered to buy the French office supplies business of Guilbert SA for $875 million in a deal that would double the size of Office Depot’s European business. According to an Office Depot statement, Guilbert parent company Pinault Printemps Redoute has “told Office Depot that it welcomes the offer and plans to begin talks with labor groups about the deal.”
The Delray Beach, FL-based Office Depot owns the Viking Office Products catalog in addition to its eponymous retail chain. Viking mails into the U.K., Japan, and much of Continental Europe; Office Depot operates catalog businesses in Belgium, Portugal, and Spain. Acquiring the $1.5 billion Guilbert office supplies business would result in regular delivery contracts in those countries. The companies hope to close the deal later this spring, subject to the approval of European competition authorities.