Staples aims to increase Corporate Express value

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. – Staples Inc.’s chief executive officer said last week that the office-supplies retail is aiming to boost profitability at Corporate Express NV’s North American business within two years of a proposed takeover, Bloomberg News reported.
Profit as a percentage of sales at the Dutch distributor, which sells office products directly to companies, may rise from 3 percent, CEO Ron Sargent said last week in an interview in Amsterdam, where Corporate Express is based. The margins will remain “less” than Staples’ own level of profitability at its North American delivery unit, he said.
Staples’ global experience will “help Corporate Express do much better,” Sargent said.
Staples last week raised its bid for Corporate Express by 14 percent to 1.67 billion euros ($2.58 billion) and said investors holding 23.3 percent of the shares supported the offer. The Dutch company, which last month agreed to buy French competitor Lyreco, said it would “carefully review” the increased bid after rejecting two earlier approaches.
Staples’s bid is contingent upon investors rejecting the Lyreco takeover. &#8226