Essendant Inc. (NASDAQ: ESND), Deerfield, IL, has agreed to pay Staples Inc. $22.5 million for contracts with minority- and woman-owned office supply resellers and their large corporate and other enterprise customers, representing sales of more than $550 million annually. The transaction is subject to the completion of the proposed merger of Staples and Office Depot Inc.
These commercial contracts with large corporate and other customers, often referred to as enterprise accounts, are currently serviced primarily by the resellers with Staples and Office Depot Inc. acting as a wholesaler. If completed, the acquisition of these contracts and related assets would significantly increase Essendant's presence with enterprise accounts and enable independent dealers in combination with Essendant to effectively compete for their business nationally
The company also reported sales for 2015 of $5.4 billion, an increase of 0.7 percent from the prior year. The company reported a loss of $44.3 million, down from a profit of $119.2 million in 2014.
Fourth-quarter sales were $1.3 billion, a decrease of 2.7 percent from the prior-year period. The company reported a loss of $95.8 million, down from a profit of $22.1 million in 2014.
The company attributed the fourth-quarter loss to restructuring charges and industrial asset impairment related to the ORS industrial business unit. These charges are comprised of an impairment of goodwill and intangibles totaling $115.8 million and a reserve increase for obsolete inventory of $4.9 million, and are a result of declines in the oilfield and energy sectors.
