Staples, Inc. has sold its telecommunications subsidiary, Staples Communications, to Platinum Equity L.L.C. of Los Angeles, a private equity firm.
The sale of Staples Communications to Platinum Equity includes the company’s three primary businesses serving 45,000 customers across the United States: Claricom, Inc., providing hardware sales and services, Claricom Networks, Inc., and Clarity Telecom Local Network Services, Inc., providing long distance and local network services. The company’s headquarters will continue to be based in Shelton, Conn., however, it will operate under a new name.
The sale follows a previously disclosed internal review by Staples of the telecommunications subsidiary. Staples concluded that the business was not a good strategic fit with the company’s core business of selling office products and providing business services through independently owned service providers. Staples purchased the company, then called Claricom Holdings, in March 1999.
