Office Depot shareholders approve Staples buyout

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By Rick Saia

Shareholders of Office Depot on Friday overwhelmingly approved Staples’ bid to buy its chief rival in the retail office supplies market, clearing the way for final regulatory approvals of the $6.3-billion deal.

Office Depot, based in Boca Raton, Fla., said 99.5 percent of company shareholders, in a morning meeting, approved the deal, which was announced in February.

“We’re pleased that Office Depot shareholders have overwhelmingly approved this transaction,” said Ron Sargent, Staples’ chairman and CEO, in a separate statement. “The combined company will allow us to provide more value to customers and more effectively compete in a rapidly evolving environment.”

Staples, based in Framingham, is the leading office-supply chain and is ranked 127th among the Fortune 500. Office Depot is ranked 194th. Two years ago, it bought the No. 3 chain in the space, Office Max. The Staples buyout, expected to be completed later this year, would essentially bring all three of those companies under the Staples umbrella.

Earlier this month, Staples secured regulatory clearance for the Office Depot deal from authorities in China and New Zealand. Staples is awaiting similar approvals from the United States, Canada, Australia and the European Union.

Before it announced plans to buy Office Depot, Staples had been under pressure to merge with its rival from activist investor Starboard Value, which has a stake in both firms. When the deal was announced in February, Sargent said the projected savings that will come from the merger "will dramatically accelerate our strategic reinvention, which is focused on driving growth in our delivery businesses and in categories beyond office supplies." In recent years, Staples has been gradually reducing its retail store space and focusing more on online sales.