Macy's receives $5.8B buyout offer from investor group as department stores face changing consumer habits
Macy’s Inc. has received a $5.8 billion buyout offer from Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The investors offered $21 a share for the department store operator, the people said, asking not to be identified as the deal hasn’t been publicly announced. Macy’s stock closed at $17.39 on Friday, having dropped 16% this year.
Macy’s didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on the deal, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal on Sunday. Arkhouse and Brigade Capital declined to comment.
Retailers have lagged the overall rally in US stocks this year as investors worry higher interest rates will damp spending and as the companies struggled to maintain the pace of growth seen during the pandemic. Department stores in particular have been confronting a broader shift in consumer habits as shoppers gravitate toward specialty and off-mall retail.
Macy’s, which operates the Bloomingdale’s chain alongside its own name-sake department stores, last month reported a 7% same-store sales decline in the third quarter.
— With assistance from Crystal Tse and Matthew Monks
