Kohl’s war heats up

Bidders for department store chain drive stock

A bidding war for discount department store Kohl’s has erupted, sending its share price up more than 17%.

At least three bidders — including Hudson’s Bay, the Canadian holding company that owns Saks Fifth Avenue — were expected to submit bids Wednesday to potentially acquire the retail chain, The Post has learned.

The other two bidders are believed to be privateequity firms, Leonard Green & Partners and Sycamore Partners. The latter did not respond for comment. Hudson’s Bay and Leonard Green declined to comment.

After activist investors agitated for the Wisconsinbased retailer to put itself up for sale and make changes to its management, Kohl’s swatted away two acquisition offers earlier this year.

Since then, the retailer’s banker — Goldman Sachs — set up a formal bidding process several weeks ago. According to a knowledgeable source, the bids were due Wednesday.

The bids, said the source, are slightly higher than the previous two bids from Sycamore Partners at $65 per share and from activist investor Acacia Research at $64 per share.

The new offers are for between $67 and $69 per share, this source said.

‘Robust’ bidding

“As previously disclosed, the board’s engagement with potential bidders is robust and ongoing,” Kohl’s spokeswoman Jen Johnson said. “The board will measure potential bids against a compelling standalone plan and choose the path that it believes maximizes shareholder value.”

Pressure has been mounting on the 1,162store chain to shake up its management and/or to sell itself this year with activist investor Macellum calling for the company to overhaul its board of directors entirely. Engine Capital, which on Wednesday also submitted a letter to the board, called for a board overhaul.

If Toronto-based Hudson’s Bay, which owns the Canadian store of the same name, acquires the company, it could bring Kohl’s to Canada for the first time.

Kohl’s shares closed at $63.11, up $9.29, on the bidding news.