Japanese group Ricoh yesterday said it would buy Ikon Office Solutions of the US, which sells and services office equipment, for $1.62bn in cash to win access to Ikon's large corporate and government customers and build its North American distribution network.

Ricoh, a manufacturer of office printers, fax machines and copiers, has been a longstanding supplier of equipment to Ikon. Ricoh's business is concentrated in Japan, however, and Ikon is one of the last office equipment companies with a strong North American presence that had not already been acquired in recent years.