The Federal Trade Commission is looking at the proposed merger of Staples and Office Depot and whether it would adversely affect competition in the sale of office supplies to large corporations, according to a Bloomberg report.
Sources familiar with the FTC's review told the news organization that while the proposed merger would have little effect on individual purchases since consumers can buy what they need from a wide array of retailers from Amazon to Walmart, the same is not true of big business. In those cases, companies typically purchase supplies on a regular schedule, receiving discounts for buying in larger quantities.
A Staples/Office Depot merger would control up to 80 percent of the large corporate account market, according to Cleveland Research Co.
Interestingly, according to the New York Post, Amazon.com supports the merger of its rivals. The company has recently begun using intermediaries to reach out to FTC regulators to lend support for the deal. The rationale for the support is that Amazon Business, a business-to-business marketplace launched in April, will have an easier time competing with one larger competitor than Staples and Office Depot as they stand now.
According to Bloomberg, regional companies such as W.B. Mason, which serve the commercial office supplies market, may also benefit from the merger as Staples and Office Depot are forced to sell off assets to gain the FTC's approval.