Private equity owners planning to cash out after eight years.

 

Winc Australia/New Zealand is up for sale, eight years after US private equity firm Platinum Equity acquired the then troubled firm previously known as Staples (and before that Corporate Express).

 

According to a  report in the Australian Financial Review’s Street Talk column, the buyout firm has asked investment bankers to pitch their ideas and expertise around finding a buyer for Winc, which along with Complete Office Supplies and Officeworks, dominates the corporate office supplies market in Australia.

 

The AFR said the request for proposal was sent in recent weeks and Platinum is expected to launch a “typical two-part auction”, in what would mark one of the larger PE deals of the year in Australia.

 

In a glowing market update last year, Platinum Equity applauded the performance of its Antipodean business. 

 

The PE firm said that the Sydney-based A/NZ company’s position in April is a “far cry” from 2020 when the business faced many challenges during the early stages of a long and difficult merger integration process.

 

Platinum Equity executives and company executives credit the turnaround to a renewed commitment to customers and significant operational improvement.

 

The AFR said the last set of financials filed by Winc date back to the year ending January 28, 2017, when it posted $831 million revenue and $276.9 million gross profit.

 

Since 2020, Winc has been led by Peter Kelly, the former CEO of Coca-Cola Amatil. 

 

Platinum Equity credited the Australian company’s turnaround to a “renewed commitment to customers and significant operational improvement.” 

 

The mostly new management team has overseen the implementation of artificial intelligence and automation, adding another layer to customer responsiveness.

 

“Platinum’s support for everything we’ve asked for has been outstanding. They are great partners and intelligent operators who just get it,” Kelly (pictured), said in response to the company’s 2024 report card.

 

Winc has more than 2000 employees and its warehouses stock more than 37,000 products.