Hudson’s Bay executive chairman leads proposal to take retailer private, stock bid is at 48% premium.
NEW YORK — A group of shareholders of Saks Fifth Avenue’s parent is making an offer to take the struggling department store chain private.
The offer, announced Monday, is being led by Hudson’s Bay Executive Chairman Richard Baker, Rhone Capital LLC, WeWork Property Advisors, Hanover Investment SA and Abrams Capital Management. The proposal values the company at 9.45 Canadian dollars ($7.12) per share in cash. That’s a 48% premium to the company’s closing share price on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Friday.
The group of shareholders together own 57% of the Canadian company.
The offer is conditioned in part on the $1.5 billion sale announced Monday of Hudson’s remaining half of its interest in its European business.
Like many department stores, Hudson’s Bay has struggled to adapt to a changing retail landscape.