FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Office Depot and Staples are in advanced talks to merge, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday morning.
Citing “people familiar with the matter,” the Journal cautioned that a deal is not guaranteed.
Office Depot, which merged with rival OfficeMax in 2013, declined to comment.
“We don’t comment on rumors or speculation,” said Karen Denning, spokeswoman for Boca Raton-based company.
Staples spokesman Kirk Saville responded with the same comment.
Activist shareholder Starboard Value has been urging a merger of the nation’s largest office suppliers, recently writing a letter to Staples’ chief executive. New York-based Starboard Value owns about a 10 percent stake in Office Depot and about 5 percent in Staples, which is based in Framingham, Mass.
The merger probably would face regulatory challenges. The Federal Trade Commission gave its blessing to the Office Depot-OfficeMax merger, citing wider online and discount store competition, but a 1997 bid to merge Office Depot and Staples was blocked over competition concerns.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
