The U.S. government’s antitrust watchdog, the Federal Trade Commission, is likely to approve the deal, experts said, agreeing with the companies that the rise of online retailers and mega stores had changed the competitive landscape since 1997 when the agency stopped the companies from merging. The FTC noted the proliferation of competitors in the market for basic office supplies when it signed off on Office Depot’s purchase of No. 3 OfficeMax in 2013.