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Office Depot has rejected another takeover attempt by office supply rival Staples, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
The parent company of Office Depot, ODP, however, has indicated it’s open to selling its retail and consumer-facing e-commerce operations to Staples or agreeing to a joint venture, according to the report. It said a deal that’s not a full takeover could be quicker and draw less scrutiny by antitrust regulators. The Wall Street Journal attributed the information to a letter between the companies.
Shares of ODP were down nearly 2% in premarket trading Tuesday to $45.
Staples has sought to buy Office Depot’s parent company, ODP, two other times. Five years ago, antitrust officials blocked a merger between the two companies and sent shares of the two companies tanking.
In the latest attempt, Staples proposed to buy the company on Jan. 11 for more than $2 billion, or $40 a share, according to the Journal. Staples is privately held by Sycamore Partners.
Along with Office Depot, ODC also owns OfficeMax, another chain of office supply stores, and CompuCom, an information technology company.
