Staples announced plans to buy Office Depot for about $6.3 billion, forging a deal that will reduce the U.S. office-supply industry to a single major chain.
The U.S. government’s antitrust watchdog, the Federal Trade Commission, is likely to approve the deal, experts said, agreeing with the companies that the rise of online retailers and mega stores had changed the competitive landscape since 1997 when the agency stopped the companies from merging.
Under the terms of the transaction, announced Wednesday, Staples would pay Office Depot $250 million if regulators block the tie-up. At about 4% of the deal’s value, that’s lower than many such antitrust-related breakup fees. These fees are meant to protect sellers by ensuring buyers will respond if regulators ask for concessions.
The FTC previously approved the merger of Office Depot and OfficeMax, the industry’s second- and third-biggest companies, in 2013. The issue now is whether consumers will be harmed by bringing the industry down to one chain.
Full Content: Nasdaq
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Dollar Tree to Sell Family Dollar for $1 Billion, Ending Struggling Merger
Mar 26, 2025 by
CPI
Meta Platforms Defends Use of Authors’ Works in AI Training in US Court
Mar 26, 2025 by
CPI
EU Pressed Meta to Address Antitrust Concerns Over Facebook Marketplace
Mar 26, 2025 by
CPI
UBS, Nomura, and UniCredit Fail to Overturn EU Antitrust Fines in Bond Trading Cartel Case
Mar 26, 2025 by
CPI
Coca-Cola Among Firms Targeted in EU Antitrust Raids
Mar 26, 2025 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Mobile Ecosystems
Mar 24, 2025 by
CPI
Mobile Ecosystems: An Intellectual Entelechy but A Necessary Model
Mar 24, 2025 by
Alba Ribera Martinez
Creating Contestability and Fairness in Mobile Ecosystems: The Contribution of the DMA
Mar 24, 2025 by
Damien Geradin & Daniel Mandrescu
Digital Ecosystems and the Not (Yet) As Efficient Competitor Principle
Mar 24, 2025 by
Thomas Hoppner & Philipp Westerhoff
Assessing the Competition Law Scrutiny of Smart Wearables and Mobile AR/VR Devices
Mar 24, 2025 by
Kayvan Hazemi-Jebelli