US office supplies retailer Staples has been given the go-ahead to acquire Dutch counterpart Corporate Express.

The board of Corporate Express, which had previously opposed a deal, terminated an alternative merger agreement with Lyreco and recommended an all-cash offer of €9.25 (£7.34) a share, giving an enterprise value of €3.1 billion (£2.46 billion).

Staples said: “The combination of Staples and Corporate Express is expected to create significant benefits for the combined company’s shareholders, customers, employees and other stakeholders, establishing a contract business for Staples in Europe and Canada, while fuelling Staples’ North American delivery business in the US, which is Staples’ fastest growing and most profitable business unit. The combination will also extend Staples’ geographic reach to Australia and New Zealand.”

As of the end of the 2007 fiscal year, the two companies’ collective businesses recorded sales of US$27 billion (£13.79 billion) in 28 countries.

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