If winning a hostile takeover was as easy as pushing a button, say an Easy Button, then maybe Staples Inc. would have already bagged Corporate Express NV. Instead, the Framingham, Mass.-based retailer did the next best thing: It
increased its offer to €8 ($12.53) per share from its February bid of €7.25 a share for the Dutch office supply company, which now
will consider talking. Corporate Express rejected Staples proposed bid in February stating that it was too low.
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"I am surprised by Staples' assertion that we have been unwilling to engage. ... We are willing to have discussions with Staples and clearly this still applies also on the basis of today's announcement," Corporate Express CEO Peter Ventress said in a statement.
In its press release, Staples states that it has gone to great lengths to acquire Corporate Express, and since the company had been unwilling to negotiate in the past, Staples was taking its offer to the shareholders.
"Today we announced a highly attractive offer for Corporate Express at a compelling valuation. We are offering certain cash value versus the considerable uncertainties of management's long range guidance," Staples CEO Ron Sargent said in a statement.
In order to acquire Corporate Express, Staples has obtained antitrust clearance in the U.S., initiated the required regulatory processes in Europe and Canada, met with Dutch trade unions and submitted to the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets a request for approval for a draft offer memorandum, which was due Tuesday. - Maria Woehr
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See Dealscape: Staples deadline for Corporate Express hostile takeover nears
