David RichardsCorporate Express one of the biggest buyers of PC and office supply gear in Australia has been sold to U.S. office supplies company Staples with speculation now mounting that the Company is considering the setting up of a retail office supply network in Australia to take on OfficeWorks.
Corporate Express one of the biggest buyers of PC and office supply gear in Australia has been sold to U.S. office supplies company Staples with speculation now mounting that the Company is considering the setting up of a retail office supply network in Australia to take on OfficeWorks.
A senior executive of Staples told ChannelNews that a retail chain in Australia is an option and that “once the Corpate Express deal has been bedded down” the concept of a retail chain in Australia will be considered.
Staples has agreed to pay A$2.9 billion dollars for the Dutch owned Corporate Expresswhich has a major footprint in Australia.
Staples on Wednesday said it had raised its all-cash bid to 9.25 euros per share from the 9.15 euros it offered last week. Its first offer, in February, was 7.25 euros per share.
According to Reuters shares of Corporate Express rose 1.4 percent to 9.20 euros, almost triple the five-year low of 3.18 euros they touched in January before the takeover battle began. Staples shot up 4.4 percent, or $1.02, to $24.17 on Nasdaq.
For Staples, the deal expands its presence in the company contracts business where it competes with Office Depot and OfficeMax as well as Corporate Express.
“Staples will dwarf other office supply distributors,” Credit Suisse analyst Gary Balter said in a research note.
“The acquisition will move Staples to a leadership position in the contract (large company) segment in North America and will create a solid base on which to build its global contract footprint, with a No. 2 position in Europe and a No. 1 position in Asia-Pacific,” Balter added.