The Nordstrom family, along with a Mexican retail group called El Puerto de Liverpool just bought themselves a great and pricey Christmas gift: a full control of Nordstrom (JWN, Financial). Nordstrom, one of the oldest dept. store chains in the U.S., will no longer be listed because they are set to go private.
They have agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of Nordstrom in a $6.25 billion all-cash deal. And once the deal is finalized, Nordstrom's shares will no longer trade publicly.
The department store's founding family will hold 50.1% ownership after the transaction is completed and a Mexican retail group will own the remainder in the first half of 2025. Nordstrom offers $24.25 in cash for every share of public investors hold.
Nordstrom's revenue took a beating during the pandemic and has not yet recovered to its 2019 high of $15.9 billion. Many other big-name department stores are also struggling as shoppers increasingly do their business online. Macy's has been closing about 150 stores, while Neiman Marcus Group was sold to Saks Fifth Avenue's parent company earlier this year.
A change in ownership will not be translated as all problems resolved but surely allow the family and their backers to make changes away from public scrutiny and create less ripples in the market regarding to their ups and downs. And that's likely a good thing for the health of the brand.
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