Office Depot sells S. Korean operations

Boca Raton-based Office Depot said Wednesday it has closed on its sale of its business in South Korea, to Hong Kong investment firm Excelsior Capital Asia. The termswere not disclosed. Earlier this month, Office Depot agreed to sell its Australia and New Zealand store operations to Los Angeles private equity firm, Platinum Equity. The office-supply retailer previously announced it would divest all of its international operations to focus on its stores andbusiness inNorth America.

“We are now one step closer to achieving our goal of divesting substantially all our international businesses in order to focus on the growth opportunities available in North America,” said Gerry Smith, Office Depot’s CEO, appointed in January.

The divestitures are part of Office Depot’s strategy since merging with OfficeMax in 2013 and scrapping its planned merger with rival Staples in 2016. The Staples deal failed after federal regulators ruled that the proposed combinationwas anti-competitive.

Excelsior Capital Asia invests throughout Asia on behalf of Korean institutions, pension funds and private family offices or wealth management advisory firms that serve high networth investors. Its portfolio includes a health supplement company, chemical company, Australian engineering firm, LED lighting company, faucet manufacturer, electronics manufacturer and Korean broadcast company, according to the company’swebsite..

Office Depot had about $11 billion in sales in 2016, a decline of 6 percent from a year earlier. But profits improved as the retailer has streamlined its operations.

The retailer closed 123 stores in 2016, and expects to close 75 this year. Office Depot has a total of 1,441 stores in the U.S., with 145 stores in Florida, according to a regulatory filing.

mpounds@sunsentinel.com, 561-243-6650 or Twitter@marciabiz