Endless has purchased another business supplies entity, having already got wholesaling and contract stationary company Vasanta in its portfolio.

The mid-market investor has bought office2office, and will now take the company off of the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market.

Endless says it now plans to combine Vasanta and o2o, with the newly-formed EVO Business Supplies holding company incorporating both.

Matthew Deering, investment director at Endless and EVO director, comments, ‘We believe that o2o is a business with a number of attractive characteristics which will benefit from the operational and financial support of Endless.

‘Furthermore, the merger with Vasanta makes strong strategic and operational sense. It provides an exciting opportunity for the combined group to deliver a strong offering to the market going forward.’

Speaking in April as part of office2office’s full year trading statement, Jim Cohen, chairman at the company, said, ‘Trading to date is satisfactory, it is in line with expectations and our operating costs are reducing.

‘However, we are concerned that the office supplies market as a whole will not improve in 2014, so we remain of the view that underlying profit in 2014 is likely to fall short of 2013.’

Endless paid an 84.6 per cent premium on the office2office closing price on 20 August 2013, of 51p, valuing the company’s equity at around £19 million.

The 900-strong staff of office2office, which is headquartered in Norwich, generated revenues of £231.9 million for the full year ending 31 December 2013, producing a profit before tax of £4.2 million.

The acquisition is subject to approval from shareholders and the court, with conclusions expected after meetings at the end of September 2014.