Macy’s rejects bid for takeover

Macy’s rejected a $5.8 billion takeover bid late Sunday that valued the struggling department store chain at roughly 20% above its closing share price on Friday, but suggested it was “open to opportunities.”

The bidders, Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital, are seeking to acquire Macy’s stock they do not already own at $21 a share and have threatened to take the offer to shareholders.

With a potential hostile bid looming, questions are rising over how Arkhouse and Brigade could pull off a deal and whether additional suitors could appear, potentially setting off a bidding war.

In a statement, Macy’s board questioned whether the investment firms had the money to finance the deal, which it said “lacks compelling value.” It noted that the bid had been accompanied by a letter with “numerous” untraditional stipulations.

Macy’s also questioned the deal’s financial feasibility. It said the firms had proposed to pay 25% of the offer in equity. The rest of the funding would likely come from debt such as leveraged loans, but appetite for such deals has waned, in part because of high interest rates.

The unsolicited bid could draw others. Arkhouse’s 2021 offer for developer Columbia Property Trust led to another buyer’s entering the picture and buying Columbia in a $3.9 billion deal.

Macy’s has not reached out to prospective buyers, people familiar with the matter said. But the retailer’s chair and CEO, Jeff Gennette, said in statement, “We continue to be open to opportunities that are in the best interests of the company and all of our shareholders.”

Still, a list of prospective suitors is short, given the challenges facing the retail sector amid stubborn inflation and shifts in consumer spending. The detrimental effect of piling debt on a retailer in leveraged buyouts — like those for Payless, Toys R Us and Sears — has scared many private equity firms away from making such deals.

Macy’s has been under pressure to improve its business as consumers have spent less on discretionary items. Its shares have fallen about 30% over the past five years, as the company lost significant market share and was forced to close stores and lay off staff. Last week, it announced that it would cut 2,350 jobs.

Shares of Macy’s stock rose 2.6% in afternoon trading on Monday.

As the company tries to turn around its fortunes, all eyes are on Tony Spring, who takes over as CEO next month after having led Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s muchhealthier, higher- end brand. But duplicating that success could be challenging: Macy’s shoppers are different from Bloomingdale’s customers, and it has a large and underperforming store base.