Dive Summary:

• OfficeMax and Office Depot remain confident that a merger of the two companies will be complete by the end of the 2013 fiscal year, based on reports from Internet Retailer.
• The potential merger stands to save both sides roughly $130 to $200 million during the first full year of sales following the transaction after deducting $350 to $400 million in one-time costs incurred by the merge.
• “We remain optimistic that the merger will close by the end of the 2013 calendar year, and we continue to work cooperatively with the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) as it conducts its review of the proposed combination,” stated Office Depot CEO, Neil Austrian.

From the article:

The transition process hit a bump in the road with last week’s announcement that Bruce Besanko, executive vice president, chief financial officer and chief administrative officer of OfficeMax, was leaving the company. He had been co-chairman of a joint transition committee along with Mike Newman, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Office Depot. Besanko is leaving to become the executive vice president and chief financial officer of Supervalu Inc., a grocery wholesaler and retailer, effective Aug. 6.