Staples’ Revenge: The Tipline for 4 April 2023

After scuttling two of its attempts to purchase Office Depot, it appears Staples has retaliated against the US antitrust establishment. Or rather, some of its products have. The US District Court for the District of Columbia has ordered lock manufacturers Assa Abloy and Spectrum Brands to divest a pair of “state-of-the-art” staplers to the Department of Justice after an Antitrust Division attorney joked about not being able to locate a working one. Judge Ana Reyes, who was recently assigned to the case, apparently has a sense of humour in addition to a relatively open docket for the merger challenge now set to go to trial on 24 April. Also in Tipline, a pair of fight promoters seek to join forces in the ring and Amazon loses its bid to escape California’s pricing parity suit.