48.viking/6 inches/LK1st/mark2nd

No. 48

Office Depot Buys Viking Office Products

Consolidation in the office products industry claimed one of L.A.’s largest public companies in May, when Viking Office Products announced it would be acquired by Office Depot in a deal valued at about $3 billion.

The move marked the first big purchase for Office Depot, the nation’s largest office supply store chain, since its proposed $4.3 billion merger with Staples Inc. fell apart over government regulators’ antitrust concerns.

Torrance-based Viking was L.A. County’s 26th largest publicly traded company this year, with revenues of $1.5 billion for the 12 months ended June 30. The company supplies a wide range of office products to small to medium-sized business, exclusively through catalogue sales.

The deal closed on Aug. 26, creating an office products giant with projected revenues of $8.4 billion. Viking continues to operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Office Depot, with about 3,500 employees worldwide, including 500 in Southern California.

Analysts said the acquisition strengthens Office Depot’s business-to-business sales market and gives it a strong inroad to the international market through Viking’s 26 facilities in 11 countries. Viking has more than 2.5 million active business customers in the United States, Europe and Australia.

D.B. Young