Activist hedge fund Starboard Value on Monday disclosed that it has taken a 13.3 percent stake in Office Depot Inc, making it the biggest shareholder of the No. 2 U.S. office supply retailer. Office Depot shares were up 13 percent premarket at $2.78 on Monday.Starboard CEO Jeffrey Smith wrote in a letter to Office Depot Chief Executive Neil Austrian that the company's shares are "deeply undervalued" but management could take certain actions such as cutting expenses to improve performance.Starboard acknowledged in the letter to Austrian that the industry was under pressure, but said that Office Depot's performance lagged behind that of peers Staples Inc and OfficeMax.Office Depot has been facing tough competition from other office products suppliers as well as mass merchants and drugstores.
Office Depot, Inc. (Office Depot) is a global supplier of office products and services. Shares of ODP remained unchanged at $2.47. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $1.51 and as high as $3.81. On average, 5280240 shares of ODP exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 29300.
Staples, Inc. (Staples) is an office products company. Shares of SPLS remained unchanged at $12.21. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $10.57 and as high as $16.93. On average, 13376300 shares of SPLS exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 0.
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