Japanese copier-maker Canon announced that it intends to buy Océ NV, the Dutch-based printer and copier company.

The deal is for $1.2 billion. Océ has revenues of around $3.5 billion a year.

Océ is the last European company in the office equipment industry. Océ’s specialty is in high-end printers and copiers, intended for commercial printers and major in-plant print shops. Those products would be a strong complement to Canon’s mid-range, office-oriented copier line, with little overlap.

Where the companies do overlap is in the office copier business. In 2005, Océ bought US copier company Imagistics for around $685 million, acquiring that company’s line of office copiers rebranded from Konica Minolta, Sharp, and Toshiba. Though no plans have been announced, it makes sense that Canon would replace these third-party models with their own, using Océ’s solid national sales force to augment its own.

The move beefs up Canon’s position in the high end of the market, allowing it to catch up to its key rivals, Xerox and Ricoh. It bolsters its position in the European market. It also adds sales expertise to make up for some of what Canon lost when Ricoh bought the IKON chain of dealers last year.

As with any announced acquisition, this deal may be sabotaged by shareholders of regulatory agencies, but it looks pretty likely to go through.

Tags: Canon, merger, Oce