OFFICE DEPOT OFFERED $430Million FOR MEXICAN DIVISION

[Anonymous]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aMAqXGHrCXeY&refer=news
Gigante Offers $430 Million for Office Depot’s Stake in Venture
July
08- Grupo Gigante SAB, the Mexico City retailer that sold its grocery
chain in December, said it offered to pay $430 million for Office Depot
Inc.’s 50 percent stake in their joint Mexican office-supply
venture.The purchase would give Gigante complete control of Office
Depot de Mexico SA and would be conditioned on Gigante gaining rights
to expand the chain into Latin America, Gigante said today in a
statement to the Mexican stock exchange.Gigante and Office Depot will
begin formal talks on the offer shortly, the Mexican company said. The
offer was unsolicited and non-binding, and there’s no assurance a
transaction will be made, Office Depot said in a separate
statement.Gigante sold 206 supermarkets, including seven in the U.S.,
to Organizacion Soriana SAB, Mexico’s second-largest retailer, for
$1.35 billion at the end of last year. Wal-Mart de Mexico is the
country’s largest retailer.

[Author]

July 30, 2008 at 4:25 PM