欧迪办公又想嫁人了

    据报道，欧迪办公（Office Depot）与马克斯办公用品公司（Office Max）正在商谈并购，希望联手挑战史泰博（Staples）在办公用品行业的霸主地位。不过，这并不是欧迪办公第一次尝试放弃独立地位。

    早在1996年，欧迪办公便同意以33.6亿美元，接受史泰博收购。有人认为，这个消息无异于对业内排行第三的马克斯办公用品公司宣判了死刑。消息传出后，马克斯办公用品公司的股票应声下跌。但也有人认为，这样一来，作为除史泰博之外最大的一家办公用品公司，马克斯公司可以更有效地展开竞争。很快，消费者保护团体展开猛烈抨击，他们认为，办公用品超市数量减少将导致从铅笔到办公椅等所有办公用品的价格上涨。例如，拉尔夫•纳德尔的大众公民组织（Public Citizen）便发现，与仅有一家办公用品超市的市场相比，在史泰博与欧迪办公相互竞争的市场，一盒传真纸的价格要便宜7美元。

    而美国联邦贸易委员会（The Federal Trade Commission）似乎也被反对派的观点所打动。1997年3月，联邦贸易委员会发布了一项反对并购的临时禁令。之后，史泰博与欧迪办公曾试图挽救这笔交易，提出同意将63家办公用品超市出售给马克斯公司，这些超市所在的市场已经不存在其他竞争对手。然而，此举纯属徒劳，因为几周之后，美国证监会（SEC）便提出起诉，请求驳回这笔交易。

    对于起诉的决定，该委员会的一位委员给出了如下解释：

    “两家公司提出的方案无法解决可能导致价格上涨的不良竞争问题。在目前有三家公司竞争、而在并购之后则将仅剩两家的城市，将超市出售给马克斯办公用品公司的方案解决不了这些城市的问题。我们的数据显示，在三家公司竞争的市场，商品价格明显低于仅有两家公司竞争的市场。此外，在原先被史泰博与欧迪办公视为扩张目标的城市，这个解决方案排除了增加竞争的可能性。最后，两家公司的提议将使目前提供最低价格的欧迪办公彻底消失。”

    后来，联邦贸易委员会的请求获得了一位联邦法官的支持。但有人仍认为，这位法官的判决是造成办公用品超市行业当下困局的罪魁祸首。例如，今年8月份，史泰博创始人兼前任CEO汤姆•斯坦伯格在接受《财富》杂志（Fortune）采访时就曾经说：

    “我认为，三家公司应该变成两家。很显然，我当时已经为并购做好一切准备了，可最终还是没能成功。我认为联邦贸易委员会的做法是错误的，而它也知道自己做错了，因为并购才能更有效地为美国消费者带来价值。”

    我们最终的结局看上去似乎就要实现斯坦伯格所说的双雄并立的局面，只是过程并非他所预想的那样。无论如何，市场似乎非常认同斯坦伯格的总体观点：三家办公用品公司的股票今天均大幅上涨。

    还有一点笔者非常好奇，对于一直默默伴随史泰博的私募股权公司，此次并购是否会对它们产生影响。欧迪办公与马克斯公司合并之后，可能会超出私募股权公司的承受范围，结合最近关于史泰博将获准在美国销售苹果（Apple）产品的报道，情况就更是如此。无论如何，至少这样一来，未来办公用品市场的竞争格局将逐渐明朗。

    译者：刘进龙/汪皓

    Office Depot (ODP) reportedly is in talks to merge with Office Max (OMX), in a consolidation play aimed at challenging Staples (SPLS) for office supply supremacy. But this isn't the first time that Office Depot has tried to lose its independence.

    Back in September 1996, Office Depot agreed to be acquired by Staples in a $3.36 billion deal. The announcement was seen in some quarters as a death knell for number three player Office Max -- whose shares slumped immediately on the news -- while others felt that it would be able to compete more effectively as the largest remaining alternative.

    Consumer advocates immediately pounced, arguing that fewer office superstores would lead to increased prices for everything from pencils to desk chairs. For example, Ralph Nader's Public Citizen group found that a box of fax paper cost $7 less in markets where Staples and Office Depot competed with each other, compared to markets with just a single office superstore.

    The Federal Trade Commission seemed persuaded by the naysayers. It issued a preliminary injunction against the merger in March 1997, after which Staples and Office Depot tried salvaging the deal by agreeing to sell 63 stores to Office Max in markets that didn't already have a rival office supply superstore. But it was for naught, with the SEC suing to kill the deal several weeks later.

    In explaining its decision to sue, an FTC director said:

    "The proposed settlement doesn't resolve the competitive problem that would lead to these higher prices. The proposal to sell stores to Office Max doesn't address cities where three superstores compete today but only two firms will remain after the merger. Our data shows that in markets where three superstores compete, prices are significantly lower than in two chain markets. The proposed settlement also eliminates the possibility of increased competition in cities where Staples and Office Depot had planned to expand. And finally, the proposal would permanently eliminate Office Depot, the superstore that currently offers the lowest price."

    A federal judge would later agree with the FTC, in a decision that some still blame for the office superstore industry's current travails. For example, here is what Staples founder and former CEO Tom Stemberg said during an August interview with Fortune:

    "I think three companies ought to be two. And obviously I put my money where my mouth was way back when but it failed. I think the FTC was wrong, and I think the FTC knows it was wrong and that a merger would be an effective and productive in providing value to the American consumer."

    So it seems we're finally getting to that dichotomy, albeit not in the way that Stemberg had originally envisioned. Nonetheless, the markets seem to agree with Stemberg's larger point: Shares of all three office superstores are up sharply today.

    Also worth wondering if the merger will have any impact on private equity firms that continue to quietly circle Staples. It's possible that the Office Depot-Office Max merger could put it a bit out of their price range, particularly when combined with a recent report that Staples will be allowed to sell Apple (AAPL) products in its U.S. stores. At the very least, it will clarify the sector's future players.