Sycamore-backed Staples, an American office retail company, offered to acquire the consumer business of Office Depot, a provider of business services and supplies, products and technology solutions, for $1bn. Staples and Office Depot have tried tie-ups before in hopes of gaining scale and becoming the country’s singular office supply store. But the retailers abandoned efforts to combine in a $6.3bn deal in 2016 after the Federal Trade Commission sued to block the proposed merger on antitrust grounds. Staples filed for antitrust approval to acquire Office Depot’s consumer division in November in hopes of clearing the path for such a deal.