Staples Purchases Office Depot for $6.3 Billion
In the deal that could make Staples the lone office-supply chain remaining, Staples announced it will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Office Depot, and Office Depot shareholders will receive $7.25 in cash and 0.2188 of a share in Staples stock for each Office Depot share at closing.
Both companies' board of directors have approved the sale, which has been in the works since September, and the company expects to close by the end of 2015. Staples expects annual sales to reach $39 billion when the merger is completed, and hopes to reduce costs by the third full fiscal year after closing through "headcount and general and administrative expense reductions, efficiencies in purchasing, marketing, and supply chain, retail store network optimization, as well as sharing of best practices," according to Staples.
Amanda L. Cole is the editor-in-chief of NonProfit PRO. She was formerly editor-in-chief of special projects for NonProfit PRO's sister publication, Promo Marketing. Contact her at acole@napco.com.