Sydney-based Wolseley Private Equity has reached an agreement to acquire control of Adelaide-based Cartridge World, the world’s largest printer cartridge refill and remanufacturing franchiser. Wolseley, together with Cartridge World’s executive management in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom, have agreed to buy 80 per cent of the company from the Adelaide-based founders, Bryan Stokes and Paul Wheeler.
Mike Fuller, Cartridge World’s managing director of Asia-Pacific, South Africa and the Middle East, said that the change in ownership will not affect the company’s franchisees or existing business relationships, but will help to build up and sustain stronger growth.
Speaking on the occasion, Naveen Rakhecha, CEO, Cartridge World, South Asia, said, “With a wide and competent management team, we view this acquisition as a unique platform to leverage our core competencies and operating experience. It is an attempt to accelerate our growth and expansion, and to accomplish our vision is to be the No.1 franchise of choice in the world. With the economic growth India is currently experiencing, combined with a growing middle class, we believe we are on the cusp of a strong growth cycle and are excited to be partnering with Wolseley.”
Wolseley Private Equity’s Managing Director Peter Hasko said, “This business attracted us because of its unique competitive commercial advantage. Cartridge World is the only global company offering high-quality refilled ink jet and laser cartridges at substantially lower price than a new cartridge, combined with its environment-friendly credentials. An estimated 20 million printer cartridges go into landfill each year in Australia alone. These cartridges can take up to 450 years to decompose. Refilling the cartridges is a significant contribution to preserving our environment.”
“We see considerable opportunity to increase our worldwide presence by expanding the network we now have, with our 52 master franchisees. We will add master franchisees in fast-growing countries in Asia, Europe and South America. With Wolseley’s support we plan to double the number of outlets in the coming three years,” commented Fuller, adding that the increasing use of computers and digital cameras is boosting worldwide demand for printer cartridges.
