Staples, Office Depot CEOs to testify

March 31, 2016

Ron Sargent and Roland Smith will give testimonies to the US case looking at the merger.

JSOnline reported on Sargent and Smith’s scheduled testimonies, with both said to be the “last two witnesses on the list” at the US District Court before Judge Emmet Sullivan decides whether to take the case to another court battle in May, or approve the merger and dismiss the injunction filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In addition, Staples’ President of North American Operations Shira Goodman will also be testifying at the court in Washington DC.

Earlier this week, the case took a dramatic turn towards approval for the merger, with the New York Post reporting that the merger might go ahead after Sullivan highlighted the FTC’s attempts to pressure Amazon “to lie” about the challenge a combined company might pose. Amazon earlier became embroiled amid rumours of it helping out the merger, while further settlement talks were revealed that came to nothing.

The FTC filed a lawsuit to block the $6.3 billion (€5.8 billion) merger last year, with a divestment offer rejected. Both companies extended their merger agreement to May in January, while the EU recently approved the merger after concessions. The news site pointed out that stocks in both Staples and Office Depot have “jumped” since the case began, which is “an indication that investors are optimistic the merger will go through”. A decision is expected from Sullivan before 10 May, six days before Staples and Office Depot’s merger agreement expires.

Should the merger be approved, Office Depot’s Smith would receive around $46.78 million (€41.17 million) in compensation, while in total the company’s top executives would receive around $85 million (€74 million). Sargent would remain CEO of the combined company, which would be based in Framingham, Massachusetts, a move that “could result in major layoffs” because of the “loss of a top headquarters company in southern Florida”.

Categories : City News

Tags : Office Depot Staples USA