Staples surges on report of possible sale

Shares in Staples surged on Tuesday following a report that the office supplies chain was mulling a possible sale of the company.

According to The Wall Street Journal, which cited unnamed sources, Staples is in early talks with buyout firms after it failed to merge with peer Office Depot last year.

The WSJ said a small number of private equity bidders were in the frame and it was understood that the deal could value Staples at around $7bn.

Staples and Office Depot called off their proposed $6.3bn merger in May last year after a judge ruled for the Federal Trade Commission, granting a preliminary injunction halting the deal on antitrust grounds.

Staples chairman and chief executive officer Ron Sargent said at the time: "We are extremely disappointed that the FTC’s request for preliminary injunction was granted despite the fact that it failed to define the relevant market correctly, and fell woefully short of proving its case.

“We believe that it is in the best interest of our shareholders, customers, and associates to forego appealing this decision, terminate the merger agreement, and move on with our strategic plan to drive shareholder value. We are positioning Staples for the future by reshaping our business, while increasing our focus on mid-market customers in North America and categories beyond office supplies.”

At 1500 BST, the shares were up 13% to $9.80.