Corporate Express, the Dutch office supplies group, succumbed to a sweetened offer from Staples on Wednesday, ending a struggle for control that had seen it attempt a separate merger with a French rival, as an alternative to the hostile US approach.

The board of Corporate Express said it had dropped the plan to merge with Lyreco, a privately-held French rival, and would now recommend that shareholders accept an all-cash, €9.25 per share offer from its US competitor that gives it an enterprise value of €3.1bn.