The agreement to combine the two companies comes after months of pressure from Starboard Value, a hedge fund that had threatened to press a management change at Staples if it did not pursue an acquisition of Office Depot.
The combination is likely to face close antitrust scrutiny. Eighteen years ago, regulators shot down a combination of Staples and Office Depot. But in the nearly two decades since that attempted deal in 1997, the competitive landscape has changed, with both companies now facing rivals in Walmart, Target, Amazon and others.
Despite the specter of reduced competition in the market for pens and paper, regulators recently signaled that they were open to more consolidation in the office supplies market.
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