Boise Cascade Agrees to Buy OfficeMax

Boise Cascade Corp., the fourth-largest maker of wood and paper products in the U.S., agreed to buy office products retailer OfficeMax Inc. for $1.15 billion and said it might seek a buyer for some of its businesses later this year.

Shareholders in OfficeMax, the No. 3 U.S. office supply retailer, would get $9 a share in cash and stock, the firms said.

The purchase of Shaker Heights, Ohio-based OfficeMax would more than double annual sales at Boise’s office products distribution unit to $8.3 billion and give it 1,000 U.S. retail stores. The unit, Boise’s largest and most profitable, has grown to about half of sales from less than 20% a decade ago after the company sought out less cyclical lines of business.

Shares in OfficeMax rose $1.42 to $8.60, and Boise fell $1.56 to $21.87, both on the New York Stock Exchange.