Staples wins Corporate Express in $2.65 bln deal

By Foo Yun Chee

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - U.S. office supplies company Staples Inc has won its battle to buy Corporate Express NV and extend its dominance of the world's office products market after the Dutch firm agreed to a sweetened bid of 1.7 billion euros ($2.65 billion).

Staples on Wednesday said it had raised its all-cash bid to 9.25 euros per share from the 9.15 euros it offered last week. Its first offer, in February, was 7.25 euros per share.

Corporate Express, an office supplies wholesaler, said it has terminated a deal to buy privately owned French rival Lyreco, a pact seen as an attempt to fend off Staples.

Shares of Corporate Express rose 1.4 percent to 9.20 euros, almost triple the five-year low of 3.18 euros they touched in January before the takeover battle began. Staples shot up 4.4 percent, or $1.02, to $24.17 on Nasdaq.

For Staples, the deal expands its presence in the company contracts business in Europe and North America, where it competes with Office Depot and OfficeMax as well as Corporate Express.

"Staples will dwarf other office supply distributors," Credit Suisse analyst Gary Balter said in a research note.

"The acquisition will move Staples to a leadership position in the contract (large company) segment in North America and will create a solid base on which to build its global contract footprint, with a No. 2 position in Europe and a No. 1 position in Asia-Pacific," Balter added.

Analysts said a tie-up between Staples, a retailer, and Corporate Express, a wholesaler, makes strategic sense and could lead to big savings in the slowing U.S. economy. Balter estimated at least $250 million in cost savings over three years.

HOSTILE TO FRIENDLY

Sanford Bernstein analyst Colin McGranahan said increasing the offer was a fair price to pay to win over Corporate Express and turn the deal to friendly from hostile.

"A hostile scenario would likely have resulted in significant management turnover at Corporate Express," McGranahan said in a research note.

Corporate Express will pay a 30 million euro break-up fee to Lyreco, which said last week it had considered a counterbid for Corporate Express but market conditions were not favorable.

Lyreco Chief Executive Eric Bigeard told Reuters his firm would review its options for expanding in North America and consider acquisitions in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

Petercam analyst Fernand de Boer said, "Corporate Express is simply being realistic; they did what they had to do. I think it is more than fair value for Corporate Express."

Staples said the companies have combined annual revenue of $27 billion and more than 94,000 employees in 28 countries. By contrast, Office Depot has annual sales of $16 billion and OfficeMax reported 2007 sales of $9.1 billion.