Commerce Commission to consider office products merger

Commerce Commission to consider office products merger

The Commerce Commission has received an application from Staples, Inc seeking clearance to acquire all of the shares in Office Depot, Inc.

Staples and Office Depot are two USA-based companies that supply work place products in a number of countries, including New Zealand.

In New Zealand, Staples operates through Staples New Zealand Limited and Office Depot operates through OfficeMax New Zealand Limited, Croxley Stationery Limited and Armidale Industries Limited.

Staples NZ and OfficeMax NZ supply a range of products to businesses, government agencies and other institutional buyers. These include commercial stationery, cafeteria supplies, office furniture, educational supplies, cleaning products and packaging supplies.

Both Staples NZ and OfficeMax NZ sell their products direct and online to their customers. OfficeMax NZ also operates 16 retail office products stores.

Croxley is a manufacturer, importer and wholesaler of stationery and technology products while Armidale is a manufacturer and wholesaler of suspension filing systems.

A public version of the application will be available shortly on the Clearances Register.

Background
When considering a proposed merger or acquisition, the Commission must decide whether the competition that is lost in a market when two businesses merge is substantial. We will give clearance to a proposed merger if we are satisfied that the merger is unlikely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition in a market.

A fact sheet explaining how the Commission assesses a merger application is available on the clearances page.

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