New Zealand’s Commerce Commission Endorses Staples-Office Depot Merger

The Commerce Commission of New Zealand endorsed Staples’ deal to acquire Boca Raton, Florida-based Office Depot, reports bizjournals.com. In February 2015, Recycling Times Media reported Staples will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Office Depot at a cost of US$6.3 billion.

Dr. Mark Berry, Chair of the Commission, believed the acquisition would not suppress competition in New Zealand or other markets in which the two parties participated.

Dr. Berry added, “The workplace product market for government and large corporate customers is currently competitive, and we consider that the merged entity would continue to face competition from three companies—Fuji Xerox, Office Products Depot and Corporate Consumables. Each of these is eligible to supply across all workplace product categories under the recently announced All-of-Government procurement contract.”

Further, Dr. Berry noted that the Commission has investigated Croxley Stationery, a New Zealand subsidiary of Office Depot. He explained, “In our investigation, we also found that brand names have limited competitive importance, so we do not consider that the merged entity’s ownership of Croxley raises significant competition issues.”

As revealed, Staples’ acquisition of Office Depot has not yet received approval from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), but an okay is expected at the end of 2015. Back in March 2015, the two parties received a request for additional information and documentary material to prove the acquisition complies with the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (HSR Act) of 1976.

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