Office Depot will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Staples and boost Staples' annual sales to $39bn.
US office supplies companies Staples and Office Depot have entered into definitive agreement under which Staples will acquire all outstanding shares in Office Depot.
Under the terms of the agreement, Office Depot shareholders will receive, for each Office Depot share, $7.25 in cash and 0.2188 of a share in Staples stock at closing. The transaction values Office Depot at an equity value of $6.3 billion, the companies announced in a joint press release on 4 February.
Following the acquisition of Office Depot, Staples will have a pro forma annual sales of approximately $39bn. Staples will merge its wholly owned subsidiary Staples AMS with and into Office Depot. According to the company, Office Depot will survive the merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of Staples.
The transaction is pending approval by Office Depot shareholders and competition law authorities in the US, Canada, China and the EU. The companies expect the deal to close by the end of 2015.
