Report: Staples In Talks To Be Sold

(RTTNews) - Office-supply retailer Staples Inc. is reportedly in talks to sell the company. Shares of Staples are currently trading up 10 percent on the news.

According to a report in WSJ, the company is in early discussions with a small number of private equity firms. Staples, which currently has a market capitalization of about $6.4 billion, is expected to be valued at about $7 billion.

However, the talks are early and it is possible they won't lead to a deal, the report warned.

The report for sale comes just less than a year after Staples effort to merge with rival retailer Office Depot Inc. failed on antitrust grounds.

Staples has been closing stores and in December agreed to sell a majority stake in its European operations to private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP, seeking a turnaround after a federal judge blocked its proposed $6 billion tie-up with Office Depot.