Platinum Equity LLC (Platinum) (via Winc NZ Limited) and OfficeMax Holdings Limited (OfficeMax) are suppliers of workplace products to New Zealand companies. We filed proceedings on 2 November 2017 to stop the merger of these firms over concerns the acquisition would have, or would be likely to have, the effect of substantially lessening competition in the New Zealand market for the supply of core stationery to large corporations and/or to government customers purchasing under the All-of-Government contract. Platinum agreed to divest Winc to address the Commission’s competition concerns regarding Platinum’s acquisition of OfficeMax. Platinum provided an undertaking to the Commission and the Court committing to divest Winc to a purchaser approved by the Commission once Platinum acquired OfficeMax. The Commission approved the purchase of Winc NZ by TSPV1 Limited, a subsidiary of the Tiri Group Limited (Tiri Group). This transaction completed on 2 July 2018.
