Japan's Canon is acquiring Holland's Océ as part of its plan to create the world's largest document printing company.

Océ has accepted Canon's offer of 730m euros to buy the company. The pair said that if the acquisition goes through, Océ will carry on as a division of Canon, keeps its branding, and that there will be no redundancies at either company as a result of the merger. Key Océ management will also remain.

The two companies said they intended to capitalise on a complementary fit in product ranges, channel reseller mixes, R&D and business lines.

Canon has made an offer of € 8.60 per Océ, representing a premium of 70% over Océ's closing share price of Friday 13 November 2009.

Canon chief operating officer Tsuneji Uchida said, "Through the merger of Canon and Océ, we believe that we will be able to realise clear benefits, not only in the area of R&D, but also in terms of product mix and marketing, and are confident that this winning combination will contribute greatly to our goal of becoming the overall number one presence in the printing industry."

Océ CEO Rokus van Iperen said, "This is the best possible combination in the consolidating global printing industry, and it will deliver scale in R&D, manufacturing and distribution. The combined organisation provides us with access to a huge sales network in Asia, as well as mutual cross selling opportunities in Europe and the US."