Nordstrom Family Offers To Take Department Store Private In $3.76 Billion Deal

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 in a cash deal, months after first expressing interest in a buyout, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

The offer represents a premium of nearly 35% to Nordstrom’s stock. I Photo: Baron Maddock Wikimedia Commons

In a letter to the board of directors, Erik Nordstrom said the Nordstrom family members, who own about 33.4% of the company’s outstanding common stock, 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 nation’s third-largest credit card issuer, with over 7.2 million active accounts.

It already owns approximately 9.6% of Nordstrom stock. The offer represents a premium of nearly 35% to Nordstrom’s stock since March 18, when media reports about the proposed transaction first emerged.

Shares have rallied this year, trading just above $23 last week.

“That the Nordstrom family has made an offer to buy the department store chain comes as no surprise. What is interesting is the $23 a share value, which is pretty much the current price of the stock,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData.