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February 11, 2016

Staples merger gets European Union approval

Courtesy Staples

The Framingham-based supplier of office supplies received some much needed good news -- the European Union has approved its acquisition of Office Depot.

The approval adds the E.U. to a growing list of nations that have approved the merger -- including Australia, New Zealand and China -- even as the company is embroiled in a legal battle with the Federal Trade Commission for approval in the United States. The trade commission announced in early December it would move to block the company's planned merger with its rival, saying that the merger would reduce competition within the market and lead to higher prices.

This win for Staples comes as the company has seemingly started to prepare for the acquisition to not go through by laying of “hundreds” of corporate employees. But Staples seems firm on seeing this acquisition happen as it recently extended the merger agreement with Office Depot that was set to time out under the initial arrangements.

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