CLIFTON Shareholders at the troubled textile and housewares retailer, Linens n Things, are expected to approve the company’s sale to an investment group on Monday. The group, Apollo Management LP, is offering to buy the Clifton-based company for $1.3 billion, or $28 a share. Linens n Things is the country’s second largest specialty housewares chain, behind another New Jersey company Bed Bath & Beyond, but has been losing business as other retailers like Wal-Mart and Target have entered the booming home goods market. Linens n Things has 542 stores and $2.7 billion in sales last year. But despite the fact that the company opened 50 stores in 2005, sales for that year were on par with 2004 and net income declined every quarter last year. Some analysts say being owned by a private investment group such as Apollo will help Linens n Things instead of remaining a publicly traded company. ``The private equity option is certainly the best of all available options,’’ Burt Flickinger III, managing director of the New York consulting firm Strategic Resource Group, told The Record of Bergen County for Sunday’s editions. ``It gives the company time without the shareholder and profit pressure to reorganize the business.’’ If the deal wins shareholder approval, it is expected to close by the second quarter.