Staples receives European approval to acquire Office Depot

  • By Marcia Heroux Pounds Sun Sentinel
  • Wednesday, February 10, 2016 12:42pm
  • Business

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Staples has received European Union approval to acquire Office Depot, which is headquartered in Boca Raton.

The European Union approved the transaction on the condition that Staples divest Office Depot’s commercial contract business and all of Office Depot’s operations in Sweden. Staples agreed to the terms and also said it would divest Office Depot’s retail, online and catalog operations in Europe. The divestiture of Office Depot’s European business is subject to closing of the acquisition.

“This is a significant step,” said Ron Sargent, chief executive of Framingham, Mass.-based office-supply retailer.

The acquisition also has been previously approved by Australia, New Zealand and China.

In the U.S., Staples and Office Depot still face a trial May 10 to complete its transaction by the new extended date of May 16. Canada also has challenged the merger.

The $6.3 billion transaction was challenged in December by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which said it was anticompetitive for bulk buyers of office supplies. Staples and Office Depot are fighting the FTC’s lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

The decision will have an impact on Office Depot’s some 2,000 employees who work at its Florida headquarters, as well as stores around the world. Staples has said the combined company would be based in Massachusetts.

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