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US: Office Depot, OfficeMax get clearance to take on Staples

By  |  November 3, 2013

Office supply retail chains Office Depot and its smaller counterpart OfficeMax have been given antitrust clearance to merger, allowing the companies to combine in efforts to take on the market’s number-one player Staples.

The US Federal Trade Commission cleared the $976 million deal, the companies announced Friday.

The companies now expect to close the deal this Tuesday.

Office Depot had once looked to merge with Staples in 1997, but the deal was shot down by the FTC. Reports say similar competition concerns from that case did not apply to the merger with OfficeMax.

The FTC confirmed clearance of the deal, saying in a statement on its website that the approval was a unanimous decision.

Full content: Reuters

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