And then there was one—buyout option for Staples, that is.
In April, our sister site Print+Promo reported that the Framingham, Massachusetts-based retailer was in early-stage talks with a limited number of private-equity firms for a possible sale. It’s no secret that Staples has been struggling over the last five years due to heightened competition from online giants like Amazon. (Revenue declined from roughly $24.67 billion at the end of fiscal year 2011 to approximately $18.25 billion in 2016.)
According to Bloomberg, Staples has rebuffed a takeover offer from Cerberus Capital Management, which, as of now, only leaves Sycamore Partners in the running. Anonymous sources told the news outlet that while the bid from Cerberus Capital Management did value Staples at more than its current market value of about $5.8 billion, the office-supplies company felt it was too low.
All of this supports a bleak outlook. First, there are the mere two offers. Dig a little deeper, and you’ll then see that these offers come from firms known for taking on troubled companies.
Bloomberg’s sources were quick to add that no final decisions have been made and past bidders could re-emerge, along with new ones. Shares of Staples traded up 3.5 percent by mid-morning on Thursday.
Might things have played out differently had the mega-merger attempt with Office Depot gone through?
