Office Depot to Acquire OfficeMax in All-Stock Deal
Posted on February 20, 2013
Reuters reports that Office Depot has announced an agreement to acquire OfficeMax in an all-stock deal. What is unusual about the deal is the two companies have not yet decided on the name of the new company. They also have not yet decided on the headquarter location or who will be the CEO of the larger office supply company.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the announcement was accidentally made Wednesday in the Office Depot earnings report, which was released prematurely. This could explain why major deal points, such as the name of the new company, have not yet been confirmed.
Office Depot CEO Neil Austrian leveled blame on Thomas Reuters for releasing the earnings report. He said, "Someone at Thomson Reuters pressed the button, and they shouldn't have."
Investors were not happy with surprise merger news. Office Depot's shares fell 17% on news of the deal.
Business Insider reports that some experts are saying Staples will benefit from the combination of Office Depot and OfficeMax.
Update:: The merger was approved in 2013.