In an interesting piece of news, Office Depot Inc. is in advanced talks to merge with OfficeMax Inc. Both of the companies are under a great deal of pressure from investors to boost their profitability and their shareholder value. A merger could help them to cut costs, close stores and boost their placement with suppliers.

Office Depot’s market capitalization is at $1.1 billion and Office Max has a market value of $932 million.
Benjamin Nahum, a portfolio manager at the investment firm Neuberger Berman LLC, said, “In our view this would facilitate a fair deal.”

According to Thomson Reuters data, Neuberger Berman owns 4.76% of OfficeMax, which makes it the third-largest shareholder of the company.

In 1997, The Federal Trade Commission rejected a $4 billion merger of Office Depot with Staples, arguing that it would lead to less competition and higher prices for customers. Analysts are now less concerned about those issues.