New YorkMembers of the Nordstrom family, with the help of Mexican retailer Liverpool, have offered to buy the century-old US department store chain Nordstrom for $3.76 billion in cash and stock, months after expressing interest in acquiring it.
In a letter to the board dated Tuesday, Erik Nordstrom said Nordstrom family members own about 33.4 percent of the 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 more than 7.2 million active accounts. It owns about 9.6 percent of Nordstrom’s shares.
The offer represents a premium of about 35 percent to Nordstrom’s shares since March 18, when media reports of the proposed transaction first emerged.
The letter says the group has commitments for $250 million in new bank financing.
Erik B. and Peter E. Nordstrom are the fourth-generation leaders of the retail company, which was founded in 1901 as a shoe store. Erik is the company’s CEO, and Peter is its president.
In the filing, the family cited the health of their late father, Bruce Nordstrom, as one of the impetus behind the proposed transaction. The company’s former chairman, Bruce Nordstrom, died in May at age 90.
Seattle-based Nordstrom has acknowledged receipt of the proposal, and a special committee of board directors formed in April will evaluate the offer.
Nordstrom shares, which have risen 27 percent this year, fell 33 cents to $22.49 in pre-market trading on Wednesday.
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– 2024-09-05 14:36:11
