Home Depot’s COO Resigns

Atlanta, GA, September 4, 2007--Home Depot said its chief operating officer, who oversaw the company's wholesale distribution business, has resigned following the sale of the unit to a group of private equity firms.

The company said in a regulatory filing that Joseph DeAngelo resigned from the company.

DeAngelo will continue to work with HD Supply, which Home Depot sold for $8.5 billion to three private equity firms, Home Depot spokeswoman Paula Drake said.

The sale was completed on Thursday.

The sale price was reduced from the $10.3 billion that the buyers had initially agreed to pay for HD Supply in June.

The company agreed to reduce its price for HD Supply amid turmoil in the financial markets.

The completed agreement calls for Home Depot to retain a 12.5% stake in HD Supply and to guarantee $1 billion of debt the buyers took on to complete the transaction.

Home Depot said earlier this week that it would pay $325 million for the equity stake.

The company has said that it would use the proceeds from the sale of HD Supply to partly fund a buyback of up to $22.5 billion in company shares.

In the SEC filing, Home Depot said it will use all or a substantial portion of the proceeds from the HD Supply sale to fund the tender offer. As a result, the company decided to reduce a $10 billion credit line that it set up in connection with the tender offer to $2 billion, the filing said.