Office Depot in deal for its European business

Office Depot Inc. has agreed to sell its European business to an investment group.




The office supplies retailer is selling its European operation to German investment firm Aurelius Group. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Office Depot said it would be structured as an equity sale for "nominal consideration.



And this sentence to end of third graph. The business has annual sales of about 2 billion euros (roughly $2.24 billion), the company stated.



Office Depot Europe operates more than 100 stores in Europe, under such banners as Viking.




“The sale of our European business will allow us to streamline operations and focus our resources on markets that will provide the best opportunity to implement our recently announced three year strategic plan,” said Roland Smith, chairman and CEO Office Depot. “The Aurelius Group has a proven track record of positioning its acquisitions for future success and we look forward to working with them to complete this transaction.”



The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval by the European Commission and other European entities, is expected to close by the end of 2016.



Since 2005, Aurelius has completed more than 70 transactions across Europe and specializes in investing in companies and corporate spin-offs, as well as complex divisional carve-outs from corporates, according to Office Depot.