Public corporation
In 1995, OfficeMax became one of a handful of companies doing business through internetMCI.[14] Around this time Kmart sold the remaining 25% of the OfficeMax shares it held.[15] On July 14, 1996, a new kiosk program called BatteryMax was test launched in two Phoenix stores. BatteryMax were operated by Batteries for Everything.
OfficeMax also filed lawsuits for infringement for use of the "Max" name against Med Max and Circuit City for CarMax, its used car business.[16] For the next few years OfficeMax and its rivals, Staples and Office Depot, continued to open new stores, saturating the market segment.
OfficeMax developed regional delivery centers, and invested in its super-regional PowerMax distribution centers in Las Vegas, Nevada, Hazleton, Pennsylvania, and Birmingham, Alabama after litigation began with previous logistics and shipping provider.[17]
A small sized store concept, OfficeMax PDQ, test was launched in Woodmere, Ohio, in late June 1998.[18] By 2001, the chain operated 960 stores.[19] That year, OfficeMax began closing underperforming stores in some neighborhoods and in regions where it did not have a strong presence.[20] In 2003, OfficeMax was acquired by Boise Cascade Corporation for $1.3 billion.[21] The following year, the combined company split into two: its wood and paper operations were acquired by Madison Dearborn Partners, and the remaining company adopted the OfficeMax name.[22]
In December 2012, OfficeMax operated 941 stores in 47 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Mexico; that year, net sales were $6.9 billion, down from $8.3 billion in 2008.[23]
Merger with Office Depot
It was announced on February 20, 2013, that OfficeMax and Office Depot would combine in an all-stock deal, creating the largest U.S. office-supplies chain.[24] However, as of May 2, 2013, a lawsuit filed by a stockholder, Hollander v. OfficeMax Inc et al., U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, No. 13-3330 was filed to block the merger, which would pay all OfficeMax shareholders 2.69 shares of Office Depot in exchange for a single share in OfficeMax. Eric Hollander said in a statement "OfficeMax, if properly exposed to the market for corporate control, would bring a price materially in excess of the amount offered in the proposed transaction..."[25] Office Depot said on May 5, 2013, that it would hold a special meeting with shareholders after the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission finished reviewing documents relating to its merger with OfficeMax.
The merger with Office Depot closed on November 5, 2013.[26] On December 10, Office Depot, Inc. announced that it had chosen Boca Raton, Florida for its global headquarters post-merger, closing the OfficeMax headquarters in Naperville, Illinois.[27]
