Staples, Inc. and office supplies distributor Essendant Inc. (NASDAQ: ESND) have extended the tender offer for all outstanding shares of Essendant's common stock to December 26.

Staples and Essendant announced their merger agreement in September, in which Staples would acquire all outstanding shares of Essendant for $12.80 per share in cash, or a transaction value of $996 million, including net debt. The companies have since extended the tender offer several times, most recently pushing the deadline to 6 p.m. New York City time on December 26.

Publicly traded Essendant will become a privately held company upon completion of the merger, the companies said.