Office Depot and Staples Merger May Be Shredded

A federal judge’s ruling this week has thwarted the merger between Office Depot Inc. and Staples Inc., due to antitrust laws. Many believe that this ruling will completely dissolve the potential merger.

Siding with an FTC ruling from December, U.S. District Judge Emmett G. Sullivan issued a preliminary injunction, which has stopped the companies from proceeding with their plans. The two companies, amid falling revenue, had hoped that the merger would have helped to keep their businesses afloat.

In 1997, the FTC made the same ruling when the two office suppliers attempted to join forces.