Staples slightly ups price for Corporate Express

Framingham office supplies retailer Staples Inc. today said that it has slightly sweetened its offer to buy Corporate Express NV, a Dutch company that specializes in delivering office supplies to large corporate customers.

After earlier sales offers were rejected as too low, Staples and Corporate Express announced June 11 that they had reached an agreement on a deal with a $2.6 billion purchase price.

Staples said today it will increase its offer price for investors who own Preference Shares A in Corporate Express, a move that will ad nearly $40 million to the $2.6 billion price, a Staples spokesman said.

Corporate Express has roughly 239 million shares outstanding, and about 53 million of that total are Preference Shares A, the Staples spokesman said.

In the June 11 announcement, Staples said it would pay 3.15 Euros per Preference Shares A, and today Staples said it would raise that offer price to 3.60 Euros per Preference Shares A, the Staples spokesman said.

In a statement issued today, Staples said that it anticipates that the price increase will be "attractive to the remaining shareholders of the Preference Shares A and encourage all holders of Corporate Express' ordinary shares and Preference Shares A and all holders of the Corporate Express two-percent subordinated convertible bonds to tender their securities into the offer."

Unless extended, that offer is set to expire Friday, Staples noted.

Staples shares were up 97 cents, or about 4 percent, to $25.10 in mid-day trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)