ACCC will not oppose OfficeMax acquisition

November 16, 2017

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has revealed that it will not seek to block the proposed acquisition of OfficeMax by Complete Office Supplies.

Today the ACCC released a media statement revealing that it would not stand in the way of the proposed acquisition of OfficeMax by Complete Office Supplies, both of which supply office products to both commercial and government customers in Australia.

The ACCC revealed that it “focused on the supply of traditional office products, particularly stationery, to large commercial and government customers.”

“The ACCC found that a combined COS-OfficeMax would continue to face competition from Winc (formerly Staples), and to a lesser extent from Lyreco. Post-acquisition, Winc will remain the market leader by some margin,” ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said.

“Few customers expressed concerns about the proposed acquisition and some suggested that an enlarged COS may be able to compete better with Winc.”

Meanwhile, the ACCC is also reviewing Platinum Equity’s bid to acquire OfficeMax. The Commission has “released a Statement of Issues in relation to that proposal in August” and the review of Platinum Equity’s continues.

“If there are competing proposals to buy a company, the ACCC reviews the proposals independently of each other. A decision on Platinum Equity’s bid for OfficeMax is currently due in late November,” Mr Sims said.

Categories : City News

Tags : ACCC Acquisition Australia Complete Office Supplies OfficeMax Platinum Equity