Also, bear in mind that you're quoting an article from 2013, and Staples stock fell by about 25% in 2014. They've picked up a little since then, but they're not going to get back to where they were. Their market is slowing disappearing.
And what prevents Staples from adjusting their product offerings to lean more towards "devices", and less towards "pens"?
Amazon used to sell only books....
Maybe they'll move to a different market successfully, maybe they won't. They wouldn't be the first once successful company to fail as the market changes though.
How long do you imagine 'that much longer' to be? That sounds too weaselly to be accurate.
My point is that these business are a lot larger than people realize, and that the phase out is going to be a lot slower than people think because it's primarily enterprise recurring contracts that are powering their sales.
That said, I use the printer at my office maybe 1x/week, so I agree that it's not long-term sustainable. This is why consolidation is a good bet for short-term viability and the deal is a good one for Staples for right now.
I agree it's a good idea for both companies. There's a perception that's perhaps unfair that these companies are complacent relying on paper and ink. These kinds of things are important to their current business, but both companies are more forward-thinking than most people give them credit for.