Office Depot

WASHINGTON -- Staples Inc. reached a tentative agreement yesterday to sell 63 stores to rival OfficeMax Inc. for about $109 million, in a move aimed at heading off a Federal Trade Commission antitrust lawsuit over Staples' proposed purchase of Office Depot Inc.The Federal Trade Commission was expected to go to court today to seek a preliminary injunction to block the Office Depot acquisition, valued at about $4.6 billion in stock and assumed debt. The divestitures, with a price tag that's about half of what Staples wanted for the stores, is similar to the agreement Staples said it hammered out with the FTC several weeks ago."

It's 3 p.m. on a Friday, and Home Paramount Pest Control in Harford County is running low on office supplies.Vice President Nancy Tilley faxes an order: four bottles of correction fluid, 200 clasp envelopes, eight boxes of file folders, seven boxes of fax paper and a package of sticky yellow Post-it sheets.Forty miles away, at Office Depot Inc.'s big warehouse in Savage, the order lands on Melanie Hancock's desk. She types it into Office Depot's computer.She pushes the tan "Enter" button, prompting a complex, computerized chain reaction that ripples through the warehouse and beyond.

Staples, the second largest office supply warehouse in the nation, is purchasing the inventories of three Baltimore area Office Stop stores and plans to take over two of those locations as early as next week.The deal reached with San Antonio-based Office Stop, which filed for Chapter 7 under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code last month, would have Staples assume the leases for Office Stop stores in Eastpoint and Towson.Those stores, which are still operating, will be converted to Staples stores and will reopen during the last week of July, said James Forbush, Staples vice president for marketing.

Office Depot opens on Englar Road in Westminster Office Depot held a grand opening and ribbon-cutting Thursday for its store at 402 A Englar Road in Westminster. Local officials welcomed the store and heard about the company's community outreach programs. The store is donating $500 each to Family and Children's Services of Central Maryland, the Carroll County Public Library to reach disadvantaged children, and Carroll County Food Sunday food bank. Also, 120 backpacks with school supplies will be donated to Carroll County public schools for at-risk children.

St. Joe PaperPaper manufacturer St. Joe (NYSE, SJP, $38.25) has assets that suggest it is one of the most undervalued situations on the New York stock exchange, says Francis Curzio, F.X.C. Investors."With 1.1 million acres of land in Florida, St. Joe is the state's largest private landholder. In part, this land was purchased in the 1930s, and is recorded on the company's books at prices paid during the Depression. St. Joe Paper also owns shares of other companies, including 500,480 shares of General Motors, 782,100 shares of Du Pont, and a 53 percent stake in Florida East Coast Industries.

It's ironic that the Baltimore Sun recently mentioned how vital farmer's markets are to communities ("Growing faster than zucchini," Aug 20). My local market kept getting moved, and I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't return next year. At least Office Depot was decent and smart enough to offer vendors a spot after they were shuttled from the library parking lot to Boston Market and yet again to a community center. Unfortunately, the new location isn't nearly as convenient: It's unlikely people will (or can)

The chirpy female voice on the phone at Office Depot asks for an order, but if you are still thumbing through the catalog, she seems happy to wait. "If you need more time, just say, 'I need more time,' " she suggests. "I need more time." Then you hear it: "Hmm-hm-hm-hm-hmmm..." Ms. Chirpy is humming. Contentedly humming in your ear, as if to prove that her patience is absolutely endless. And it is, because this is the voice of an automated system that uses electronic speech recognition and recorded human responses to bring Office Depot's Web-based ordering service to call-in customers.

Bristol-Myers"Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY, NYSE, around $80) has become the world's second-largest drug firm," says Mariola Hagger of Kemper Securities."

NEWTON, Mass. -- Staples Inc., the six-year-old office-supply chain, is growing rapidly. From 34 stores at the end of the 1990 fiscal year, it has 105 now, and intends to have 124 by the end of the 1992 fiscal year, which ends Jan. 31. But analysts say it has the situation well in hand."

Office Depot"Office Depot (ODEP, OTC, $23) is the largest office superstore chain in the United States. Based in Boca Raton, Fla., the company currently operates 103 units in the South and Midwest," says The Ruta Financial Newsletter of Bronxville, N.Y.This 4-year-old company has completed its seventh straight quarter of at least 25 percent profit growth. The stock appears reasonably priced at only 13.5 times estimated 1991 earnings. Our best guess is that this stock could easily double or triple in the next few years.