May 5, 2021 - Economy

Office Depot to spin off distribution business into separate company

Dan Primack

An Office Depot store in downtown Denver. — Photo: Robert Alexander/Getty Images

Office Depot today disclosed plans to spin off its commercial distribution business into a separate company, via a tax-tree transaction.

Why it matters: This may help clear the path for an acquisition of Office Depot by Staples, whose 1996 and 2015 takeover efforts were thwarted by antitrust regulators.

Staples, now owned by Sycamore Partners, made a third offer earlier this year that ODP rejected, but with the caveat that the board was open to future discussions.

Bottom line: "ODP said it would retain its retail consumer and small-business products and services, while separating its Business Solutions Division contract unit and independent regional office-supply distribution operations," Bloomberg writes.

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Office Depot to spin off distribution business into separate company

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