DEERFIELD, Ill., May 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Essendant Inc.
(NASDAQ: ESND), a leading supplier of workplace essentials, today
announced that its previously announced acquisition from Staples,
Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS) of wholesale contracts with minority and
woman-owned office supply resellers and their large corporate
customers representing sales of more than $550 million annually, will not close. The
acquisition was contingent on the merger between Staples and Office
Depot, Inc., which was preliminarily enjoined on antitrust grounds
by a U.S. district court judge's ruling on May 10. Staples and Office Depot announced
plans to abandon the merger in the wake of that ruling.
"While we are disappointed that we are not able to close on the
transaction, we always understood this to be a potential outcome
given the contingent nature of the agreement," said Robert B. Aiken, Jr., president and chief
executive officer of Essendant. "We have demonstrated the
ability to grow our enterprise account business and expect to
continue this growth by fully enabling our independent resellers,
many of whom are preferred options in the marketplace."
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this news release regarding growth of Essendant's
enterprise account business and any other statements about
Essendant's future plans, capabilities, expectations, beliefs,
goals or prospects constitute forward looking statements within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Any statements that are not statements of historical fact
(including statements containing "plans," "believes,"
"anticipates," "expects," "will," "would," "scheduled to," "subject
to" and similar expressions) should also be considered forward
looking statements. There are a number of important factors that
could cause actual results or events to differ materially from
those indicated by such forward looking statements, including: the
risk that the conditions to the proposed transaction between
Essendant and Staples are not satisfied; potential adverse reaction
or changes to business or employee relationships, including those
resulting from the announcement of the proposed transaction; timing
of the transaction; competitive responses to the proposed
transaction; unexpected costs or charges resulting from the
transaction; the risk that covenants of Staples are not performed
timely; and the other factors described in Essendant's annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015.
Shareholders, potential investors and other readers are urged to
consider these risks and uncertainties in evaluating
forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue
reliance on the forward-looking statements. For additional
information about risks and uncertainties that could materially
affect Essendant's results, please see the company's Securities and
Exchange Commission filings. The forward-looking information
in this news release is made as of this date only, and the company
does not undertake to update any forward-looking
statement. Investors are advised to consult any further
disclosure by Essendant regarding the matters discussed
in this release in its filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission and in other written statements it makes from
time to time. It is not possible to anticipate or foresee all
risks and uncertainties, and investors should not consider any list
of risks and uncertainties to be exhaustive or complete.
Company Overview
Essendant Inc. is a leading supplier of workplace essentials,
with 2015 net sales of $5.4 billion.
The company stocks a broad assortment of over 180,000 items,
including technology products, traditional office products,
janitorial and breakroom supplies, office furniture, industrial
supplies, and automotive aftermarket tools. The company's network
of 74 distribution centers enables the company to ship most
products overnight to more than ninety percent of the U.S. and
major cities in Canada. For more
information, visit www.essendant.com.
Essendant common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market
under the symbol ESND.
For Inquiries:
Kaveh Bakhtiari
investorrelations@essendant.com
847.627.2900
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SOURCE Essendant Inc.