Having struck out the first two times in wooing Corporate Express, the world's biggest office-supplies retailer has now ratcheted up its bid $2.6 billion for the Dutch company in what is being considered a “knock-out” offer. So, is the gig finally up?

Staples increased its bid by 14 percent to 9.15 euros a share and said today that Corporate Express investors owning 23.3 percent of the company already agreed to sell their shares. The Amsterdam-based distributor said in a separate statement that it will "carefully review" the increased offer.

"The game is over," said Marcel Hooijmaijers, an analyst at Landsbanki Kepler in Amsterdam. "This is a knock-out bid." Hooijmaijers recommends investors hold Corporate Express stock.

Corporate Express rose as much as 7.9 percent in Amsterdam trading to within 1.4 percent of the offer price. The planned takeover would bolster Framingham, Massachusetts-based Staples' most profitable unit, which sells office supplies directly to companies. The Dutch company is the world leader in that field and makes more than half of its sales in the U.S.

The offer is 69 percent higher than Corporate Express's share price on Feb. 18, before the initial approach, and is conditional on investors rejecting the Dutch company's agreement to purchase French competitor Lyreco SA.

Corporate Express rose 59 cents, or 7.1 percent, to 8.95 euros at 10:48 a.m. in Amsterdam after climbing as high as 9.02 euros. A close at that level would be the highest since Aug. 14.

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