Staples, Office Depot to Sell Corporate Assets to Illinois Office Supplier

Staples and Office Depot announced an agreement Tuesday to sell more than $550 million in large corporate contract business and related assets to office supply wholesaler Essendant. Deerfield, Ill.-based Essendant will pay Staples about $22.5 million, the companies said. More than 25 percent of the revenue acquired by Essendant will be from Fortune 100 companies and approximately half of the revenue will come from Fortune 500 companies, Staples noted. The sale is subject to successful completion of the proposed $6.3 billion merger of Staples and Office Depot.