Toys "R" Us, one of the best known toy retailers, agreed last night to be sold for $6.6 billion to a consortium of two private-equity firms, Bain Capital and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., and Vornado Realty Trust, according to people familiar with the matter.

The consortium will also assume the unspecified amount of Toys "R" Us debt, including the retailer’s $2.29 billion in long-term debt as of Oct. 30.

The sale ends a seven-month auction of Toys "R" Us’s toy division that surprisingly culminated in the sale of the whole company. At first it was presumed that the retailer would keep its profitable baby products division Babies "R" Us. The baby procducts division produces diapers, clothing and furniture for infants. Last month one of the bidders offered to buy the whole company, as two divisions proved difficult to separate.

Chief Executive Officer John Eyler expressed yesterday a wish to stay at Toys «R» Us and said some stores will be closed to support the expansion of the Babies "R" Us chain.

"We’re growing Babies like crazy and international [sales] like crazy," he said.

Toys "R" Us is a successful toy retailer, attractive because of convenient property locations, but lately it began to lose market share to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and other discount outlets.

KKR previously invested in European retailer VendexBB and some U.S. Hotels, but has not yet purchased a US retailer. Bain Capital, on the contrary, has been accumulating shares of toy retailers for the past four years, buying KB Toys, now re-emerging after Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

"Vornado’s sole involvement presumably will be handling repositioning and disposition of real estate," said James Corl, chief investment officer for real estate securities at Cohen & Steers Realty Shares. "That’s good news. Essentially, they’ll never have real ownership of the toy-retailing business. They’ll end up owning a lot of real estate."