ueblvjun1102

Staples Inc.'s long battle to buy Dutch company Corporate Express NV finally ended with a $2.7 billion deal Wednesday. The deal sets to make Staples the biggest office supplier in the world and will no doubt put further distance between itself and U.S. rivals Office Depot and OfficeMax. Its two rivals combined would be smaller than Staples once the deal closes. With U.S. retail sales of office supplies slumping, Staples also hopes to expand in the more profitable business of delivering office supplies to corporate customers — Corporate Express' strength — and build off the Netherlands-based company's European market. Staples succeeded by raising its offer three times after its original Feb. 19 cash bid of 7.25 Euros per share. The final price of 9.25 Euros per share is up from Staples' offer last week of 9.15 Euros, which prompted Corporate Express' management to enter talks. The corporate office supplier had earlier resisted negotiations even as Staples brought its hostile offer directly to Corporate Express shareholders. "We're going to go from a company where retail is about 60 percent of our sales to a company where delivery is about 60 percent of our sales," Ron Sargent, chairman and chief executive of Staples, said in an interview. "That is really transformational." The agreement thwarts a competing deal Corporate Express had reached three weeks ago to acquire France's Lyreco SAS, which is now expected to receive a $46 million breakup fee from Corporate Express. "I think the paper clip wars are over, and it's a win for both sides," Sargent said.