Staples, Office Depot are reportedly in talks to merge

Staples and Office Depot are in talks to merge companies, sources "familiar with the matter" told The Wall Street Journal. The move would consolidate the office supply market.

The Journal didn't reveal the price of the deal but notes that Staples is valued at $11 billion, and Office Depot is valued at $4 billion. The two companies combined own 4,000 stores and generate annual sales of more than $35 billion.

However, the Journal also notes that a merger "would get a close look from antitrust regulators, who in 1997 sued successfully to block the same proposed merger." But in 1997, the market was also different, since there is now more competition from big-box stores and online retailers.

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