Macy's Ends Buyout Discussions With Arkhouse And Brigade

Macy's has ended its buyout discussions with Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital, saying that their raised offer lacked the certainty of financing and did not provide compelling value, sending its shares down 15% in early trading, Ananya Mariam Rajesh and Juveria Tabassum reported for Reuters.

The deal talks came at a crucial time when Macy's rolled out a turnaround plan under new CEO Tony Spring that focused on job cuts and 150 store closures through 2026.

The company disclosed this week that the investor group had revised its offer for a second time on June 26 to buy the department store chain's stock it does not already own for $24.80 apiece, up from $24 per share offered in March.

The new offer price valued the company at $6.86 billion and was at a nearly 43% premium to the stock's close on Dec. 8, when the news of the offer first emerged.

Arkhouse, which has a 4.4% stake in Macy's, and Brigade Capital Management did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Macy's said in April that two of Arkhouse's nominees would join its board's finance committee, which was responsible for overseeing the evaluation of the proposal from the investor group.

The deal talks came at a crucial time when Macy's, which traces its roots to a dry goods store set up in New York in 1858, rolled out a turnaround plan under new CEO Tony Spring that focused on job cuts and 150 store closures through 2026.