OfficeMax Halts Stock Buy-Back Program

Itasca, Ill.— Retailer OfficeMax is curtailing a scheduled stock-repurchase program while it launches an internal investigation into claims by a vendor serving its retail business that certain retailer employees acted inappropriately in requesting promotional payments and in falsifying supporting documentation for about $3.3 million in claims billed to the vendor by OfficeMax during 2003 and 2004. While the investigation is ongoing, OfficeMax postponed a decision about the form and timing of share repurchase until the investigation is completed. OfficeMax said it had planned to repurchase between $775 million and $815 million of its own stock.