Staples to attach Dutch business

Dutch office products supplier Corporate Express has agreed to a 3.1bn-euro ($4.8bn; £2.4bn) takeover bid from US counterpart Staples.

Staples had to increase its bid four times to win the Dutch firm's backing, ultimately offering 9.25 euros for every Corporate Express share.

As a result, Corporate Express will abandon an alternative plan to buy French rival Lyreco.

When combined, the two firms will have sales of $27bn and 94,000 employees.

The bid still has to be approved by shareholders of both firms.

Established in 1986, Staples has more than 2,000 stores worldwide and opened its first outlet in India last year.

"Corporate Express is simply being realistic"
Fernand de Boer, Petercam
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Analysts said Corporate Express, primarily a wholesaler of office supplies, had little choice but to accept Staples' improved bid.

It is well above the 7.25-euros-a-share offer the US firm first made in February.

"Corporate Express is simply being realistic," said Fernand de Boer, an analyst with Petercam. "They did what they had to do."

The two firms hope to make substantial savings by removing areas of duplication, particularly in the US, although analysts said they did not expect major job losses.

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