Sycamore Partners has reached the advanced stages of negotiations to buy Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS) in a deal that could exceed $6 billion, according to Reuters, with an announcement perhaps coming as soon as next week.
Retail Apocalypse Snowballs As Liquidity Collapses
The struggling office supplies retailer had been up for auction after its proposed $6.3 billion merger with Office Depot was shot down due to antitrust concerns last year. Reports had indicated that Cerberus Capital Management was in position to buy the Massachusetts-based chain, but Staples turned down an offer in late May that reportedly valued the company at more than $5.8 billion.
Sycamore has a long history in the retail sector; it bought department store chain Belk for about $3 billion in 2015 and has invested in discount store Dollar Express and teen clothing retailer Hot Topic, among other brands. On a broader level, PE investments in the retail sector have made up just 1.66% of all PE deals in the US since the start of 2014, according to the PitchBook Platform, as companies struggle to cope with the rise of online retailers like Amazon.
Read our other recent coverage of the retail space.
Article by PitchBook
