Joele Frank is handling Sycamore Partners’ $6.9B cash bid for Staples, the embattled office supply chain.
The offer follows last year’s collapse of Staples plan to merge with competitor Office Depot. A federal judge blocked that transaction.
Sycamore, a private equity firm that owns retailers such as Talbots and the Limited, views Staples as an “iconic brand.”
Stefan Kaluzny, managing director, praised Staples for its “winning strategy, and dedicated and passionate associates who are deeply focused on the customer.”
The Framington, MA-based chain posted a 4.9 percent drop in first-quarter revenues to $4.2B. It registered a $815M net loss due to a $920M charge for discontinued operations outside of North America. Staples has more than 1,500 outlets in the US and Canada.
CEO Shira Goodman has launched a push in the “Pro Categories” (furniture, breakroom supplies, technology, promotional products) to offset cutthroat completion in the office supply sector from key players like Amazon, Walmart, Target and Costco.
Joele Frank’s Michael Freitag and Arielle Rothstein handle IR duties for Sycamore.
Teneo is handling the initial public offering of CVC Capital Partners, one of Europe’s largest private equity firms with nearly $200B in assets under management.
Brunswick Group represents Endeavor Group Holdings as it agrees to go private via its acquisition by Silver Lake technology investment firm, which is handled by Edelman Smithfield.
Tod Donhauser, a nine-year veteran of Edelman, has joined H/Advisors Abernathy as managing director and head of its San Francisco office.
Intelligent Group Ltd, a Hong Kong-based financial PR firm, has priced its initial public offering of 1.9M shares at $4, which is the low end of the $4 to $5 range.
Kekst CNC represents Grant Thornton as it sells a majority stake in its US arm to New Mountain Capital, which relies on Goldin Solutions, in what is billed as the largest PE investment in the accounting and advisory sector.
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