Staples Agrees to Buy Office Depot for $6.3 Billion, Creating an Office-Supply Behemoth

If approved, the deal would combine the No. 1 U.S. office supplier with its closest rival, creating a new company with expected annual revenue of $39 billion.

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By Catherine Clifford

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Office Depot has agreed to be bought by Staples for $6.3 billion. Together, the two biggest office-supply stores expect to bring in sales of $39 billion per year.

That's a lot of post-it notes. And pens. And printer paper.

To be sure, the deal -- announced today in a joint statement from Staples and Office Depot -- will face intense scrutiny from antitrust regulators. Indeed, the in 1997, federal regulators prevented Staples and Office Depot from merging, striking the deal down at the altar of competition.

Related: Staples Wants You to Crowdfund Your Way Onto Its Shelves

But, if this new deal does get the stamp of approval, Staples would become the force to be reckoned with in the office-supply space.

The two biggest office-supply stores started talking about the deal in September, according to the statement announcing the agreement. Working together, the companies would save $1 billion in otherwise repetitive costs, says Ron Sargent, Staples' chairman and CEO. With those savings, the merged retail juggernaut says it would work to move beyond just selling office supplies.

Related: Staples Rolls Out 3-D Printing Program

As the two companies wait to hear whether their merger is approved by U.S. regulators, Office Depot will stay focused on merging its business with OfficeMax, yet another office-supply store that Office Depot bought in November of 2013.

Related: Staples Data Breach May Have Hit More Than 1 Million Customers
Catherine Clifford

Senior Entrepreneurship Writer at CNBC

Catherine Clifford is senior entrepreneurship writer at CNBC. She was formerly a senior writer at Entrepreneur.com, the small business reporter at CNNMoney and an assistant in the New York bureau for CNN. Clifford attended Columbia University where she earned a bachelor's degree. She lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. You can follow her on Twitter at @CatClifford.

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