Daisytek rejects United Stationers bid

Office World News, Nov 1999

PLANO, TX-In a bid to acquire Daisytek International, United Stationers offered an all-cash deal of $20 per share. In response, Daisytek stated that an unnamed suitor has submitted an unsolicited acquisition offer which it described as "inadequate and inconsistent with its previously disclosed plans to spin off its e-commerce unit, PFSweb, Inc."

Daisytek also stated that its board has approved a stockholder rights plan that would be triggered if a person or group acquires 15 percent or more of Daisytek's common stock, or announces a tender offer that would result in their owning that much of the company.

United Stationers' president and CEO Randall Larrimore said that he was "disappointed" that the Daisytek board rejected the proposal to negotiate. "We continue to be interested in negotiating a merger transaction with Daisytek," he said. "However, if the announced IPO of Daisytek's subsidiary PFSweb occurs, we would reconsider our proposal given our concerns regarding the the intercompany agreements between Daisytek and PFSweb as well as numerous other factors."