(Reuters) - Staples Inc (SPLS.O), the No. 1 U.S. office supplies retailer, agreed to buy No. 2 Office Depot Inc (ODP.O) in a $6.3 billion deal designed to help it better compete against Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) and online rivals such as Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O).
The deal, which will likely come under close scrutiny from antitrust regulators, values Office Depot at $11.00 per share, based on Staples' closing price on Feb. 2, the last trading day prior to media reports that a deal was near.
Office Depot's shares were trading at $9.93 before the opening bell on Wednesday, up about 7 percent.
Staples' shares were down 1.5 percent at $18.72.
Staples and Office Depot are the biggest remaining U.S. retailers of basic office supplies such as paper and ink toner.
The deal, which will likely come under close scrutiny from antitrust regulators, values Office Depot at $11.00 per share, based on Staples' closing price on Feb. 2, the last trading day prior to media reports that a deal was near.
Office Depot's shares were trading at $9.93 before the opening bell on Wednesday, up about 7 percent.
Staples' shares were down 1.5 percent at $18.72.
Staples and Office Depot are the biggest remaining U.S. retailers of basic office supplies such as paper and ink toner.
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