Office Depot

More than a year after Staples announced the $6.3 billion merger, a judge has blocked it, saying it would hurt competition in the office supplies industry. The companies then called off the deal.

Regulators say the deal would hurt the market for office supplies sold to large corporations.

Combined, the two office supply giants would have annual sales of some $39 billion. But their last attempt at a merger was blocked, back in 1996.