Staples holders file suit over dot.com stock

WILMINGTON, Del. — Directors of Staples Inc. were sued by shareholders who say a planned buyback of private Staples.com stock shares at a premium is unfair. The Framingham, Mass.-based office supply retailer said recently it would swap each share of Staples.com trading stock for 0.4396 share of Staples common stock — about twice the $3.25 per-share price paid by insiders in 1999. In one of seven lawsuits filed in Delaware Chancery Court, Staples Inc. share owner William Steiner contends that company directors are wasting corporate assets by paying investors, executives and other insiders about $122 million for the shares.