A consortium backed by activist hedge fund Starboard Value LP has offered roughly $9 billion to buy department store Kohl's Corp., according to people familiar with the matter.
There are no guarantees the group will ultimately line up all the funding needed and make a firm offer, or that Kohl's will be receptive. Other suitors may emerge too. But Kohl's shares closed at $46.84 Friday, so the bid represents a 37% premium.
Menomonee Falls, Wis.-based Kohl's has been under pressure to boost its share price, which rose early last year but is little changed from roughly two decades ago. Two activist shareholders -- Macellum Advisors GP LLC and Engine Capital LP -- have recently called on the company to explore selling itself.
Little-known Acacia has a market value of just $215 million, but the consortium told Kohl's it received what is known as a "highly confident" letter from a bank asserting that it will be able to attain a debt-financing package for a portion of the bid, the people said. While such letters are no guarantee, they can be a meaningful vote of confidence.Other details of the consortium's proposal -- and who is in the group -- couldn't be determined.
Should it succeed, the group could aim to sell the company's real estate to another party, which could make pulling off the transaction easier. Activists have proposed that Kohl's explore sale-leasebacks of its real estate, which they have estimated could be worth $7 billion or more. Macellum said in an open letter to Kohl's shareholders Tuesday it has been pushing the company to add additional directors with retail experience or to hire bankers to explore a sale.
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