M&A Deal Summary

Staples Acquires Staples.com

On November 21, 2001, Staples acquired retailer Staples.com from General Atlantic and Summit Partners

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is Staples’ 2nd transaction in the Retail sector.
  • This is Staples’ 2nd transaction in the United States.
  • This is Staples’ 1st transaction in Massachusetts.

M&A Deal Summary
Date 2001-11-21
Target Staples.com
Sector Retail
Buyer(s) Staples
Sellers(s) General Atlantic
Summit Partners
Deal Type Add-on Acquisition

Target

Staples.com

Framingham, Massachusetts, United States
Staples.com is the online division of Staples, Inc. - a retailer of office supplies, furniture and technologies.

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Buyer(S) 1

Buyer

Staples

Framingham, Massachusetts, United States
Category Company
Founded 1985
Sector Retail
Employees42,554
Revenue 18.2B USD (2017)
DESCRIPTION
Entrance to Staples' corporate headquarters in Framingham, Massachusetts.
Entrance to Staples' corporate headquarters in Framingham, Massachusetts.

Staples is an office supply retailer. Staples sells and distributes a variety of office products for consumers as well as small to large companies around the world. Staples was founded in 1985 and is based in Framingham, Massachusetts.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 2 of 17
Sector (Retail) 2 of 5
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 2 of 16
State (Massachusetts) 1 of 3
Country (United States) 2 of 14
Year (2001) 1 of 1
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
1998-04-10 Quill

Lincolnshire, Illinois, United States

Quill Corporation is an online retailer of office products. Quill offers more than 500,000 products including office supplies, coffee, cleaning supplies, ink and toner, safety and MRO supplies, furniture, and custom-printing services.

Buy $685M
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2002-07-10 Medical Arts Press

Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

Medical Arts Press is a direct marketer, manufacturer and distributor of office products and practice-related supplies to healthcare professionals.

Buy $385M

Seller(S) 2

SELLER

General Atlantic

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

Category Growth Capital Firm
Founded 1980
PE ASSETS 73.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

General Atlantic is a large private equity firm that invests globally in growth-oriented public and private companies. Broad areas of interest include financial services, media and consumer, healthcare, enterprise solutions, communications and electronics, and energy. General Atlantic looks to invest $40 to $400 million in transactions that support growth, expansions, buy-outs, consolidations and build-ups. General Atlantic seeks to make 8 to 12 investments per year with an investment horizon of five to ten years. The Firm's geographic coverage spans North America; Europe; Asia/Pacific; and India. General Atlantic was formed in 1980 and is based in Greenwich, Connecticut.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 7 of 147
Sector (Retail) 1 of 3
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 3 of 44
State (Massachusetts) 1 of 5
Country (United States) 6 of 75
Year (2001) 2 of 2
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2001-01-01 Healthvision

Dallas, Texas, United States

Healthvision is a provider of healthcare specific software and services. The company provides innovative, cost-effective solutions enabling vital access to healthcare information anytime and anywhere improving clinical and financial outcomes. Healthvision solutions, powered by Cloverleaf Integration Suite, are at work in thousands of facilities around the globe, including 40 percent of all large Integrated Delivery Networks, and 33 percent of U.S. hospitals.

Sell -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2002-01-01 Computershare

Abbotsford, Australia

Computershare specializes in the provision of software solutions and professional services to the securities industry. Computershare was founded in 1978 and is based in Abbotsford, Australia.

Buy -
SELLER

Summit Partners

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

Category Growth Capital Firm
Founded 1984
PE ASSETS 39.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Summit Partners is a private investment and asset management firm focused on venture, growth, credit, and public equity investing. Sectors of interest include business services, communications technology and services, consumer products, energy, financial services, healthcare and life sciences, industrial products, internet/information services, media/entertainment, semiconductors, electronics, and software. Summit Partners is known for having a proactive business development group for sourcing transactions. Summit will consider both minority or majority investment stakes and is willing to commit as little as $10 million or as much as $500 million in combined debt/junior capital per transaction. The Firm's geographic coverage spans North America and Europe. Summit Partners was formed in 1984 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 81 of 285
Sector (Retail) 1 of 2
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 30 of 127
State (Massachusetts) 10 of 32
Country (United States) 78 of 246
Year (2001) 7 of 9
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2001-11-01 Airstream

Goshen, Indiana, United States

Keystone RV manufactures towable recreational vehicle (RV) products, including travel trailers and fifth wheels.

Sell $145M
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2001-12-01 Benesight

Lake Mary, Florida, United States

Benesight, Inc. operates as a third-party benefit administrator of health care plans.

Sell -
Mergr

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