Members of the Nordstrom family are teaming up with a Mexican retail group to offer to take the department store retailer private for $23 a share in cash, months after they first expressed interest in a purchase
NEW YORK — Members of the Nordstrom family, with the help of a Mexican retail group, are offering to take the century-old department store private for $3.76 billion a share, months after they first expressed interest in a purchase.
In a letter to the board dated Tuesday, Erik Nordstrom said Nordstrom family members own about 33.4% of the company’s outstanding common stock and are willing to pay investors $23 for each share they own.
The Mexican retail group, called El Puerto de Liverpool, operates more than 300 stores in Mexico and is the country’s third largest credit card issuer with over 7.2 million active accounts. It already owns about 9.6% of Nordstrom shares.
The offer represents a nearly 35% premium to Nordstrom’s stock since March 18, when media reports of the proposed transaction first emerged.
The letter states that the group has commitments for 250 million dollars in new bank financing.
Erik B. and Peter E. Nordström are the fourth generation leaders of the retailer, which was founded in 1901 as a shoe store. Erik is the company’s managing director and Peter is the CEO. In the filing, the family cited the health of their late father Bruce Nordstrom as a driving force behind the proposed transaction. Former chairman Bruce Nordström died in May at the age of 90.
Nordstrom, based in Seattle, confirmed receipt of the proposal and a special committee of its board – which it had already formed in April – will evaluate the offer.
Shares of Nordstrom, up 27% this year, were down 33 cents at $22.49 before the open on Wednesday.