Mergers and acquisitions
In April 1991, it merged with Office Club, which provided an expansion to the West Coast.[10] In 1995, Office Depot entered the Mexican marketplace in a joint venture with Grupo Gigante, making it the retailer's first international expansion. Office Depot then entered the European and Australian direct mail market, after acquiring Viking Direct in May 1998.
In 1997, Office Depot and Staples attempted a merger. On July 18, 1997, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that a federal district court in Washington, D.C. granted their request for a preliminary injunction, blocking Office Depot and Staples from merging as one company.[11]
In December 2001, Viking Direct expanded to Central America with new retail stores in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Costa Rica through a joint licensing agreement.[12] Office Depot sold Office Depot Europe (Viking Direct's parent) to an investment firm in September 2017.[13]
On February 20, 2013, it was announced that Office Depot and OfficeMax would combine in an all-stock deal, pending regulatory approval and stockholder approval.[14] The merger was completed on November 5, 2013.[15][16] In May 2014, Office Depot announced the closure of four hundred stores, due to declining sales and customer migration to e-retailers.[17]
On February 4, 2015, it was announced that rival Staples had agreed to purchase Office Depot, in a cash and stock deal worth approximately $6.3 billion. However, the Federal Trade Commission voted to block the merger in December 2015.[18][19] The United States District Court for the District of Columbia granted the FTC a preliminary injunction against the merger on May 10, 2016, resulting in the proposed merger's termination.[20]
In January 2017, Gerry Smith was named as the company's new CEO, effective February 27. Smith was the chief operating officer at Lenovo Group.[21][22]
Office Depot bought technology services firm CompuCom in 2017 to position the company to provide technology services.[23] In January 2021, Office Depot acquired enterprise procurement software provider BuyerQuest.[24]
