Ricoh set to acquire Ikon

Japanese office equipment manufacturer continues to move further into U.S. market

-- Purchasing, 8/27/2008 12:43:00 PM

Tokyo-based office equipment company Ricoh today sealed the deal to acquire Ikon Office Solutions, a major U.S. equipment and software distributor, of Malvern, Penn. for $1.6 billion. Ricoh's acquisition of Ikon is its largest to date, and it marks Ricoh's continued expansion into the American markets. Last year the Japanese office equipment manufacturer acquired a 51% stake in a joint digital printer venture with IBM to create InfoPrint.

This acquisition presents an interesting dilemma for Canon, a major rival of Ricoh, which makes up for 60% of Ikon's current distribution line. Ricoh's CFO Zenji Miura says the company aims to replace all of Canon's products in Ikon's line with its own within four years.