(Reuters) – Office supplies retailer Staples on Monday said it made an offer to buy Office Depot owner ODP Corp for $2.1 billion in cash, nearly five years after its second takeover effort was rejected.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission blocked Staple’s $6.3 billion offer in 2016, saying a merger between the two could reduce competition for nationwide contracts for office supplies.
The two companies agreed to merge in 1996, but the deal was put to rest as a government lawsuit argued the move would have meant higher prices for pens, paper and other office supplies.
Staples was a public company when it attempted the acquisition. It went private in 2017.
Staples said it is prepared to take “all necessary measures” to divest ODP’s B2B Business to a FTC approved and qualified buyer.
USR Parent Inc, or Staples, said it would offer $40 per for each ODP share, a premium of 8.2% to Friday’s close.
ODP’s shares rose about 11% to $41 before the opening bell.
(Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr)
