Staples acquires Office Depot

6.3 billion dollars

Staples will pay Office Depot 6.3 billion dollars (5.5 billion euro), partly in shares. It remains to be seen whether the American antitrust authority will approve the deal, as it had scuppered a previous merger between both groups. 

Investor Starboard Value has been insistent on a merger for quite some time. It has shares in both companies and hopes that the merger will result in lower costs and will help generate more profit.

The two chains have a joint turnover of 35 billion dollars (30.5 billion euro) and 4,000 stores in the United States. It is expected that the deal will be finalized by the end of the year.