Staples Inc, the No. 1 U.S. office supplies retailer, agreed to purchase No. 2 Office Depot Inc in a $6.3 billion deal designed to help it better compete against Wal-Mart Stores Inc and online rivals such as Amazon.com Inc.The U.S. government's antitrust watchdog, the Federal Trade Commission, is likely to approve the deal, experts said, agreeing with the companies that the rise of online retailers and mega stores had changed the competitive landscape since 1997 when the agency stopped the companies from merging.The FTC noted the proliferation of competitors in the market for basic office supplies when it signed off on Office Depot's purchase of No. 3 OfficeMax in 2013."The same factors that the FTC cited in the Office Depot/OfficeMax deal are present here," said Seth Bloom, a veteran of the Justice Department's antitrust division now in private practice. "I think there's a fair chance for this deal to be approved."
Amazon.com, Inc. (Amazon.com) is an e-commerce company. Shares of AMZN traded higher by 0.84% or $3.0649/share to $366.61. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $284.00 and as high as $383.11. On average, 4387320 shares of AMZN exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 1818971.
Office Depot, Inc. (Office Depot) is a global supplier of office products and services. Shares of ODP traded higher by 1.45% or $0.135/share to $9.42. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $3.84 and as high as $9.32. On average, 10959500 shares of ODP exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 90838112.
Staples, Inc. is an office products company. The Company operates in three business segments: North American Stores & Online, North American Commercial and International Operations. Shares of SPLS fell by 10.39% or $-1.975/share to $17.04. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $10.70 and as high as $19.40. On average, 13513500 shares of SPLS exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 35397496.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Walmart) operates retail and other stores in various formats, including membership clubs. Shares of WMT traded higher by 0.38% or $0.33/share to $86.52. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $72.27 and as high as $90.97. On average, 7505790 shares of WMT exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 3097036.
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