Nordstrom founders offer $23 per share to take the department store private

Nordstrom’s founding family has offered to take the department store chain private for $23 a share, teaming up with a Mexico-based retailer in its latest bid, a filing showed on Wednesday.

That price would value the company at roughly $3.76 billion. Its shares have gained 35% since Reuters first reported in March that the family showed interest in taking Nordstrom private.

The bidders include CEO Erik Nordstrom, President Peter Nordstrom and Mexican retailer El Puerto de Liverpool, who sent a non-binding letter proposing to form a new entity that would buy the chain.

They together own nearly 44% stake in the company. The Mexican high-end department store chain first acquired a stake in 2022, pushing Nordstrom family to invoke a poison pill back then.

The latest offer is a sharp drop from the $50 per share bid made by the founding family in 2018. Nordstrom had rejected it, saying it was too small and ended discussions after failing to agree on a price.

“(The group) is buying the company at a time when the profitability is low and the valuation is low,” said Morningstar analyst David Swartz.

The bid is also a sign the Nordstrom founding family wants to keep control of the chain, he said, amid a turnaround push.

The company, which was founded in 1901 by John Nordstrom, the great-grandfather of the current CEO and president, has seen sales fall since 2018, hit by a pandemic slump and strategy missteps.

But of late, Nordstrom’s sales have been stronger than its peers such as Macy’s and Kohl’s as it focuses on stocking its shelves with trendier products.

The founding family in its new bid is also in talks with other third parties regarding the offer that could result in changes of the current terms of the transaction.

“I don’t think this is a very attractive offer … don’t know if they have the ability to offer a much higher price without bringing in another partner,” Swartz said.

The deal would be financed through a combination of rollover equity and cash from the Nordstrom family and Liverpool as well as $250 million in new bank financing.

In May, Reuters reported that Sycamore Partners had shown interest in taking the company private.