WASHINGTON — A federal judge has blocked the proposed merger of Staples and Office Depot, saying the government had made a strong enough case that the merger had a “reasonable probability” of hurting competition in office supplies.
The injunction issued Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan likely means the last two national office-supply chains will drop their $6.3 billion merger plan. The companies had said they would do so if the ruling went against them.
The Federal Trade Commission has sought to block the merger, contending it would allow the new combined company to dictate the price of supplies, especially for corporate customers that buy in bulk.
In 1996 the two companies attempted to merge, but regulators wouldn’t let them, much like this time.
The merger was first announced in February 2015. At that time, Staples had said the merger would mean about $1 billion in annual cost savings and would help both companies operate on a larger scale.
Office Depot and OfficeMax merged in 2013.
Additional reporting by CNN.
