US: Staples calls no witnesses, says ‘there is a fatal flaw’ in FTC case

In an unusual high-stakes move, Staples Inc. and Office Depot Inc. on Tuesday said they wouldn’t present a defense against the government’s challenge to their planned merger, arguing that the Federal Trade Commission’s case against the deal was so weak that a judge should simply rule in their favor.

”We believe there is a fatal flaw” in the FTC’s case, Staples lawyer Diane Sullivan said in court. “On this record, the court should deny” the government’s request to block the deal, she told U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, who is presiding over the case.

Judge Sullivan has spent the last two weeks hearing the FTC’s case against the merger, as the commission argued that the combination of the two leading office-supply chains would lead to higher prices for large businesses that buy paper, pens and other such supplies in bulk.

But in a surprise to court watchers, the FTC struggled from the start and has faced skeptical questions from the judge throughout the proceedings.

The FTC wrapped up its side of the case Monday, and Staples and Office Depot were expected to begin presenting their defense on Tuesday, including by calling their chief executives to testify. Instead, the companies changed course and rested their case without calling any witnesses.

Full content: The Wall Street Journal

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