Activist hedge fund Starboard Value is expected to disclose on Monday that it has taken a 13.3 percent stake in Office Depot Inc, making it the biggest shareholder of the office products supplier, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. 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, the Journal, which had reviewed the letter, said in a report published early on Monday.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 OfficeMax and Staples Inc even though the three companies are structured similarly, according to the WSJ. ()Although Office Depot has cut some costs and made efforts to improve the format of its stores, Starboard called for reining in expenses, including advertising costs, to boost profitability, the paper said.An Office Depot spokesman failed to comment to the Journal. The company and Starboard could not be immediately reached for comment by Reuters outside of regular U.S. business hours.
Office Depot, Inc. (Office Depot) is a global supplier of office products and services. Shares of ODP traded higher by 4.66% or $0.11/share to $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 12988455.
Staples, Inc. (Staples) is an office products company. Shares of SPLS traded higher by 2.09% or $0.25/share to $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 46912184.
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