Corporate Express, Resisting Staples, Bids for Lyreco |
| Bloomberg - May 21, 2008 |
Corporate Express NV, the biggest distributor of office supplies directly to corporations, agreed to buy French competitor Lyreco SA for 1.73 billion euros ($2.71 billion) as the Dutch company resists a bid from Staples Inc.
Corporate Express, which last week spurned Staples' 1.46 billion-euro offer, fell in Amsterdam as analysts said the biggest office-supplies retailer probably won't return with a better bid. Lyreco's controlling Gaspard family will own 25 percent of Corporate Express as part of the deal and can't sell that stake for at least two years.
Chief Executive Officer Peter Ventress said today that the purchase was ``unrelated'' to Staples' bid. His Amsterdam-based company will gain Lyreco's Impega brand and save as much as 100 million euros after three years. Staples, which has more than 2,000 stores, has pursued Corporate Express for three months, aiming to build direct sales to companies as U.S. consumers and small businesses buy fewer pens, paper and printer cartridges.
Read Full Article from Bloomberg
- Posted: 2008-05-21 08:39:50
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