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Flickr/frankieleon; Flickr/Mike Mozart
The EU just green-lighted the massive $6.3B Staples and Office Depot merger after Staples agreed to sell Office Depot’s contract business in Europe along with Office Depot’s entire Swedish business.
The merger already has approval in Australia, New Zealand, China and Europe. While Staples has moved closer to securing the merger in the US, the Federal Trade Commission filed to block the merger in December over antitrust concerns.
FTC chair Edith Ramirez says the merger would eliminate the competition, effectively hiking office supply prices for large companies.
In the meantime, Staples vowed to fight the FTC’s block, citing willingness to divest operations to gain approval. [RetailDive]
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