Staples, the No. 1 U.S. office supply retailer, said Wednesday it would buy Office Depot, its next largest rival, in a $6.3 billion deal that would create an office supply behemoth, NBC News reported. Staples said it would pay $7.25 per share in cash and 0.2188 of its shares for each Office Depot share. Shares of Office Depot jumped while Staples shares were slightly lower in pre-market trading following the announcement. The deal, which is likely to face close scrutiny by antitrust regulators, is expected to close by the end of the year.
