Bentley University Offers Expert on FTC’s Blocking of Staples and Office Depot Merger

Kristina Minnick, associate professor of finance and expert on mergers and acquisitions, is available to comment on the FTC’s blocking of the Staples and Office Depot merger.

According to Minnick, it is difficult to see how the FTC will be able to block the claim due to their unanimous decision to let the Office Depot and Office Max acquisition go through in 2013:
 

• Generally, once the FTC starts the process to block a deal, it is extremely difficulty to push the deal through. However, Staples and Office Depot are in a unique position because of the Office Depot and Office Max acquisition in 2013.
   
• When the FTC was evaluating that prior acquisition, they unanimously decided that the deal should go through because office supply retailers faced fierce competition from a wide variety of competitors. 
   
• Considering that competition has grown stronger the past two years as more big box retailers have started supplying office supplies as well as increased online competition, it is difficult to see how the FTC will be able to back up their claim that the environment has grown less competitive since 2013.