Staples is trying to buy Office Depot for a third time, this time offering $2.1 billion in cash for the competitor

• Staples has made a $2.1 billion cash offer to buy competitor Office Depot.
• It's the office supply chains third attempt to buy its competitor after previous offers were rejected by regulators.
• Shares of ODP, which owns Office Depot, surged 15% in trading Monday.

Office supplies retailer Staples on Monday said it made an offer to buy Office Depot owner ODP Corp for $2.1 billion in cash, nearly five years after its second takeover effort was rejected.

In a letter to ODP's board of directors, Staples owner USR Parent $4 it would pay $40 per share for the competitor, representing a 61% premium over the stock's average over the past 90 days.

The US Federal Trade Commission blocked Staple's $6.3 billion offer in 2016, saying a merger between the two could reduce competition for nationwide contracts for office supplies.

The two companies agreed to merge in 1996, but the deal was put to rest as a government lawsuit argued the move would have meant higher prices for pens, paper and other office supplies.

Staples was a public company when it attempted the acquisition. It went private in 2017.

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Staples said it is prepared to take "all necessary measures" to divest ODP's B2B Business to a FTC approved and qualified buyer.

USR Parent Inc, or Staples, said it would offer $40 per for each ODP share, a premium of 8.2% to Friday's close.

ODP's shares surged more than 15% in trading Monday following the offer.