ODP won’t sell consumer business

June 22, 2022

Following a review of the public and private non-binding proposals, the Board of Directors unanimously determined it is in the best interests of the company and its shareholders not to divest the consumer business.

The ODP Corporation (ODP) announced that its Board of Directors completed its previously announced review of the public and private non-binding proposals received by the Company to acquire its consumer business, including the Office Depot and OfficeMax retail stores business and its direct channel business, officedepot.com.

Following the completion of that review, the Board of Directors unanimously determined it is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders not to divest the consumer business at this time. In reaching its conclusion, the Board was assisted by its financial and legal advisors, and its process included further discussions of the non-binding proposals with the potential buyers to ascertain additional details about the proposed terms and conditions. It also consisted of evaluating the expected value to the Company of such proposals, taking into account the proposed structure, economic terms, certainty, expected timing and potential regulatory requirements.

Further, due to current market conditions, the Board also determined not to resume the Company’s previously announced potential public company separation at this time and instead to maintain all of its businesses under common ownership. That separation process had been put on hold earlier this year pending evaluation of potential opportunities to divest the Company’s consumer business.

“Given current market and macroeconomic conditions, as well as the benefits of maintaining purchasing and supply chain synergies, the Board has determined that now is not the right time to further pursue separating the Company into two independent, publicly traded companies,” said Joseph Vassalluzzo, Chair of the Board of Directors of The ODP Corporation. “However, the completion of our internal reorganisation will make such a potential separation substantially simpler should the Company determine to resume the separation process following a change of market conditions in the future.”

The ODP Corporation recently completed transforming its operations under its holding company structure into its B2C business and three distinct B2B business and digital segments focused on further enhancing value for shareholders:

• Office Depot, LLC – a provider of retail consumer and small business products and services distributed via approximately 1,000 Office Depot and OfficeMax retail locations and an eCommerce presence (officedepot.com).
• ODP Business Solutions, LLC – ODP’s B2B solutions provider serving small, medium and enterprise level companies. This includes the contract sales channel of ODP’s prior Office Depot Business Solutions Division; Grand & Toy.
• Veyer, LLC – a supply chain, distribution, procurement and global sourcing operation. Veyer procures and distributes products for both Office Depot, LLC and ODP Business Solutions, LLC, as well as third-party customers.
• Varis, LLC – ODP’s B2B digital platform technology business focused on transforming digital commerce between buying organizations and suppliers.

“Completing the realignment of our operating businesses enables our dedicated management teams to focus on meeting their respective customers’ needs and implement channel specific go-to-market strategies. And by the end of the year, it will also enable us to provide greater visibility to our investors about these operating businesses’ performance on a go-forward basis,” said Gerry Smith, Chief Executive Officer of The ODP Corporation.

“Moreover, because of the current scaling benefits derived from operating under The ODP Corporation holding company structure, Office Depot, ODP Business Solutions, Veyer and Varis are better together as a value creating enterprise at this time.”

“Our operating flexibility and balance sheet currently have us well positioned to continue delivering strong results against a macroeconomic backdrop that remains challenged by inflation and supply chain constraints,” said Anthony Scaglione, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of The ODP Corporation. “For the second quarter of 2022, we expect consolidated revenue to be approximately $2.0 billion (€1.9 billion) and adjusted EBITDA in a range of $85 to $90 million (€81 to €86 million). We continue to expect our full-year 2022 results to be in-line with the previous year and will provide more details regarding our operating segment realignment and long-range outlook, including capital allocation and returns, in the coming months.”

Categories : City News

Tags : Business Consumer Business Office Depot Retail Staples The ODP Corporation