Office Depot to Absorb OfficeMax

Office supply titan Office Depot announced Wednesday that it will buy almost indistinguishably-named rival OfficeMax outright, absorbing the company in an attempt to consolidate their power to remain competitive against industry leader Staples.

Office Depot and OfficeMax are the 2nd and 3rd largest players in the industry, respectively.

Excitement about the merger was tempered significantly by a preponderance of questions about the company-to-be, which has not announced what its name would be or who would lead it.

While both companies saw stock increases Tuesday when rumors of the merger arose, Office Depot's stock plummeted almost 17% while OfficeMax lost 7% of its value Wednesday when the merger was accidentally announced in an Office Depot earnings report.

The companies have characterized the union as a "merger of equals" that will create a retailer that will generate $18 million in sales.

Industry experts have been expecting a merger of this sort for a few years, as "Big-Box" office supply retailers have struggled recently in the face of increasingly digital offices and an increase in proliferation of online retailers.

The merger still has yet to be approved by stockholders and federal regulators, but if those groups give the acquisition their collective blessing, representatives from the companies expect the process to be finalized by the end of the year.