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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

A federal judge has blocked Staples' attempted $6.3 billion acquisition of Office Depot [washingtonpost.com], citing anti-competitive concerns:

"Today's court ruling is great news for business customers in the office supply market. This deal would eliminate head-to-head competition between Staples and Office Depot and likely lead to higher prices and lower quality service for large businesses that buy office supplies," Debbie Feinstein, the director of the Federal Trade Commission bureau of competition, said in a statement.

The proposed merger was fraught from the beginning. The deal would have combined the country's largest office supply retailer, Staples, with the second largest, Office Depot.

Regulators had stopped Office Depot and Staples from merging nearly two decades ago. But the companies argued that the competitive landscape had changed dramatically since then. More business functions are now done online and there is declining demand for paper-based office supplies. Staples and Office Depot have also faced increasing competition from retail giants such as Amazon and Wal-Mart.

Also at CNBC [cnbc.com], Reuters [reuters.com], Bloomberg [bloomberg.com], and MarketWatch [marketwatch.com].

Previously: Staples and Office Depot Merger Attempt Faces Regulatory Scrutiny [soylentnews.org]

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