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A year after failing to acquire Office Depot, Staples is being bought:
On Wednesday, it [Sycamore Partners] agreed to acquire Staples Inc. for about $6.9 billion in one of the largest retail deals of the year, a wager that the office-supply chain can re-emerge as a modern seller of business services.
[...] Sycamore, saying it was attracted to Staples' "iconic brand," is paying $10.25 a share for the retailer, according to a statement on Wednesday. That represents a 12 percent premium to its share price on Tuesday, before reports surfaced that the transaction was close to be being completed.
The deal caps more than a year of turmoil for Staples, which was thwarted in an attempt to make its own acquisition in May 2016. The company had tried to purchase Office Depot Inc. in a $6.3 billion deal that would have unified the two largest office-supply sellers, but the transaction was opposed by antitrust regulators.
Related: Staples and Office Depot Merger Attempt Faces Regulatory Scrutiny
(Score: 2) by martyb on Friday June 30 2017, @03:16AM
I was working in the Boston (Massachusetts) area when Staples first started. They had MUCH better prices than any of the other stores in the area. Besides that, the stores were well-lit and had a huge, well-organized selection of office products! It became my go-to place for anything having to do with office supplies. I remember buying my first laser printer there. They really had found a niche and within a short time, they seemed to be popping up all over the northeast US and beyond. I still stop by there occasionally. Here's hoping they hold up without too many changes under the new ownership.
For the curious, here is an excellent history of the company [company-histories.com]. I had thought that I was privy to shopping at their very first store, but that history made it clear I was mistaken. It was certainly one of their first dozen stores, and quite possibly only their 2nd or 3rd.
P.S. Just after hitting preview on this comment, I noticed the fortune at the bottom of the page:
I hope that was not an augury of things to come.
Wit is intellect, dancing.