Sycamore Partners is buying Staples Inc., the parent company of Top 40 distributor Staples Promotional Products (SPP, asi/120601), for $6.9 billion. Following the announcement of the deal, Staples’ stock jumped 8%, placing its share price near $10. “We have tremendous confidence in CEO Shira Goodman and great respect for the Staples management team and are excited about this opportunity to partner with them,” said Stefan Kaluzny, managing director of Sycamore Partners, in a statement.

While many private equity firms typically shy away from purchasing retail brands, Sycamore specializes in the sector and already owns Talbots, Coldwater Creek, Hot Topic and Nine West, among others. Talks between Staples and Sycamore began after the private equity firm won out in an auction for the office supply retailer, beating out Cerberus Capital Management. The Sycamore deal means Staples will become a private company. Currently, Staples is publicly traded.

The acquisition comes about a year after a federal judge stopped Staples from merging with Office Depot in what would have been a $6.3 billion deal. The court ruled in favor of regulators who argued the merger would reduce competition and raise prices, especially in the B2B office supply sector. With its 1,255 stores, Staples has the largest share (48%) of office supplies stores in the nation. Staples also has 304 stores in Canada.

In May, Staples Inc. reported its total first quarter sales declined 5% to $4.1 billion. Meanwhile, SPP continues to be a strong performer, as Counselor estimates the firm generated nearly $600 million in 2016 North American promotional products revenue, a year-over-year rise of 7%. How the Sycamore deal will affect Staples’ promotional products division remains unclear.