Staples being sold for $6.9 billion

Staples will be acquired by private equity firm Sycamore Partners for about $6.9 billion, a wager that the office-supply chain is better off continuing its turnaround plan as a private company.

The deal gets Staples out of Wall Street’s limelight and lets it focus on a turnaround plan that includes reducing its retail footprint. But it’s hard to tell how the buyout will fix its fundamental challenges, including the rapid shift of customers to Amazon.com and slackening demand for traditional office supplies.

Reports of deal talks emerged in April, less than a year after Staples dropped a $6.3 billion merger with rival Office Depot because antitrust regulators opposed it.

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images Private equity’s Sycamore Partners is purchasing office-supply retailer Staples.