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US: Staples, Office Depot in talks to transfer corporate contracts

By  |  November 15, 2015

Staples and Office Depot, which have agreed to merge, are in talks with wholesaler Essendant Inc (ESND.O) to transfer about $600 million of corporate contracts to satisfy U.S antitrust concerns, the Wall street Journal said.

The terms of the divestiture proposal could change during talks with Federal Trade Commission officials, the Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

It isn’t clear whether the concessions will satisfy the FTC, the newspaper said.

Staples’ $6.3 billion offer for Office Depot has come under FTC’s scrutiny as it involves the top two companies in the industry.

The FTC will decide on the deal by Dec. 8, Office Depot had said in its earnings statement earlier this month.

In September, EU antitrust regulators also opened an extensive investigation into the deal, fearing possible price hikes.

Office Depot has said the closing of the deal could be delayed until early 2016.

Full content: Variety

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