F.T.C. Sues to Block Staples-Office Depot Deal
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A previous attempt to unite Staples and Office Depot in 1997 was blocked by the Federal Trade Commission.CreditSpencer Platt/Getty Images
For Staples, a merger with Office Depot is anything but easy.
The Federal Trade Commission filed suit on Monday to block the planned $6.3 billion combination of office supply companies, saying that it would significantly reduce competition in the market for consumable office supplies sold to large businesses.
Staples, based in Framingham, Mass., and Office Depot, based in Boca Raton, Fla., are each other’s closest competition in the sale of items such as pens, sticky notes, copy paper and paper clips, and are often the top two bidders for the business of large companies, the regulator said in an administrative suit…
F.T.C. Sues to Block Staples-Office Depot Deal
