Thomson Reuters apologized Wednesday after its IR and PR services division prematurely issued a press release on the Office Depot-OfficeMax merger before it was announced by both companies.

"We regret this error and are taking all steps necessary to enhance our processes and controls to ensure this does not happen again, as serving our valued customers remains our highest priority," the company said in a statement.

TR, which runs Office Depot's IR website, is in the process of selling the Corporate Services division in a $390M deal to Nasdaq OMX Group.

A draft press release of Office Depot earnings which mentioned the nearly $1.2B deal was posted two hours early on Office Depot's website before both sides had finished the pact. The merger was later announced at around 10:30 a.m.

Office Depot CEO Neil Austrian apologized for the PR snafu on a call announcing the merger, noting its "webcast provider inadvertently" posted the earnings release.

Lemuel Brewster, PR director for investors at TR, said the company incorrectly posted the merger announcement prior to its intended release and regrets the error, adding that the company is taking steps to enhance its processes and controls.