Office Depot considering sale of some European operations

Office Depot Inc said on Monday it was considering selling some of its European operations, nearly a week after the No. 2 office supply chain and bigger rival Staples Inc called off their merger due to antitrust concerns.

Staples in February agreed to sell Office Depot’s contract distribution business and its retail, online and catalog operations in Europe, in addition to all operations in Sweden to win approval for its $6.3 billion takeover of Office Depot from European regulators.

Office Depot had earlier completed a restructuring of its European operations in 2015.

The company said it expected disruption from the terminated deal to continue into the current quarter.

A U.S. federal judge last week ordered the deal be temporarily halted because of antitrust concerns, forcing the companies to abandon the merger.

Office Depot said on Monday it was also looking at “various capital structure and shareholder return alternatives”.

Shares of the company rose 2.3 percent to $3.57 in after-hours trading.

Office Depot, which operates about 1,800 stores, said on an investor call that it was on track to close 400 outlets in the current year and would consider shutting down more.

Boca Raton, Florida-based Office Depot said in a statement it had hired Bain & Co to help finalize a strategic review of its business.

– REUTERS

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