Office Depot parent rejects Staples takeover bid, open to alternative deals
US retailer Office Depot rejected an unsolicited takeover offer from competitor Staples on Tuesday but stated that it was willing to discuss an alternative deal.
Staples offered to buy Office Depot's parent, ODP, on 11 January for more than $2.0bn, or $40 per share, and said it would look into a public tender offer for ODP in March if the pair were unable to reach an agreement beforehand.
ODP said it preferred the idea of a sale of its retail and consumer-facing e-commerce operations to Staples, or a joint venture, as opposed to a full takeover.
Joseph Vassalluzzo, ODP's chairman, stated a deal other than a full takeover could be "executed more efficiently and with far greater certainty and less regulatory risk.
"It would also help maintain competitiveness against non-traditional retailers and optimise ongoing choices for consumers," he said.
A deal of this sort would allow the company to make some cost savings as a full-company sale but be less likely to attract prolonged regulatory scrutiny.
Staples' most recent bid, its third in total, follows a $6.3bn proposal five years ago, which was inevitably blocked by antitrust regulators.