Kohl’s Stock Rises on Takeover Bids. The Offers Show Scars of the Retail Rout.

Text size

Kohl’s

stock rose Friday, as two bidders have reportedly emerged for the department store.

Private-equity firm Sycamore Partners has submitted a bid for Kohl’s (ticker: KSS) valuing it in the mid-$50 a share level, and retail operator Franchise Group (FRG) has offered around $60 a share, according to people close to the situation, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

Kohl’s, Sycamore, and Franchise Group didn’t immediately respond to Barron’s requests for comments.

Kohl’s stock jumped 4.2% to $42.92 Friday morning.

Neither of the bids, if they are confirmed, would be a surprise. Franchise Group was reported to be mulling an offer for Kohl’s in April, while reports surfaced in mid-March that Sycamore Partners was also a potential suitor.

The latest reported bids, however, do reflect how increasingly difficult the retail landscape has become in recent weeks. Previous reported bids had put the value of Kohl’s closer to $70 a share, which would value the company around $9 billion. At that time, Barron’s noted that a sale looked like Kohl’s best move.

The bids reported by The Wall Street Journal this week would value Kohl’s at about $7 billion to $8 billion.

The Kohl’s takeover saga began in January. That’s when activist investor Macellum Advisors urged it to make changes, nominating new candidates for its board of directors in February—although they weren’t embraced by shareholders at last month’s annual meeting. Late January also saw the first reported bid for Kohl’s, although the company adopted a poison pill in February.

Still, the retailer noted in March that more than 20 parties were interested in possibly acquiring it. Since then, there have been many subsequent reports, linking companies as disparate as

Simon Property Group

(SPG) to Canada’s Hudson’s Bay as buyers.

The newly reported bids would come even after Kohl’s offered downbeat earnings and guidance last month, in contrast to other department stores.

Write to Teresa Rivas at [email protected]