Macy’s investors mount $5.8-B buyout bid

Shoppers look at clothes during Black Friday deals at Macy’s department store at the Roosevelt Field mall in Garden City, New York, U.S., Nov 24, 2023. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File photo

An investor group consisting of Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital has made a $5.8 billion offer to take department store chain Macy’s private, according to a person familiar with the matter on Sunday.

Arkhouse Management, a real-estate focused investing firm, and Brigade Capital Management, a global asset manager, submitted a proposal to acquire the Macy’s stock they don’t already own for $21 a share on Dec. 1, the person said. The Wall Street Journal reported the offer earlier Sunday afternoon.

The offer for the Bloomingdale’s parent is a 20.76 percent premium from its closing at $17.39 on Friday.

The group already has a big stake in Macy’s through Arkhouse-managed funds and has discussed the proposal with the department store chain, whose board subsequently met to discuss the offer. It isn’t clear how the retailer views the proposal, the person familiar with the matter said.

Arkhouse and Brigade believe Macy’s is undervalued in the public markets and have indicated a willingness to raise the offer subject to due diligence, the WSJ report said, adding that an investment bank has provided a letter supporting the group’s ability to raise the necessary financing to get through the deal.

Macy’s declined to comment, while Arkhouse and Brigade did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The retailer crushed analysts’ estimates for quarterly profit on lower inventories and strong demand for beauty products in November, signaling that attempts to trim inventory from 2022 highs were finally working ahead of the all-important holiday shopping season.

Macy’s has a market capitalization of about $4.77 billion and its shares are down nearly 15.79 percent this year.

It’s unclear whether Arkhouse and Brigade have the resources to execute on a deal of such a size, given that they have not previously done anything of this magnitude.

A $2.4 billion bid that a group of investors led by Arkhouse submitted two years ago for real estate investment trust Columbia Property Trust was unsuccessful. Pimco subsequently acquired Columbia Property for $3.9 billion.