Staples in $6.9-bn sale to PE firm Sycamore

Office-supply chain might re-emerge as modern seller of business services

Sycamore Partners, the private equity firm that still has faith in retail, is making its biggest bet yet.

On Wednesday, it agreed to acquire Staples for about $6.9 billion in one of the largest retail deals of the year, a wager that the office-supply chain can re-emerge as a modern seller of business services. 

The transaction lets Staples escape Wall Street’s glare and 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 migration of customers to Amazon.com  and slackening demand for traditional office supplies.

“This