Nordstrom founders offer $23 per share to take department store private By Reuters

(Reuters) -Nordstrom’s founding family has offered to take the department store chain private for $23 a share, teaming up with a Mexico-based retailer in its latest bid, a filing showed on Wednesday.

That price would value the company at roughly $3.76 billion. Its shares have gained 35% since Reuters first reported in March that the family showed interest in taking Nordstrom (NYSE:) private.

Nordstrom’s sales have been stronger of late than some of its peers such as Macy’s (NYSE:) and Kohl’s (NYSE:) as it focuses on stocking its shelves with trendier products.

The bidders include CEO Erik Nordstrom, President Peter Nordstrom and Mexican retailer El Puerto de Liverpool, who sent a non-binding letter proposing to form a new entity that would buy the chain, according to the filing.

The company in April confirmed the family’s interest in a potential deal and formed a special committee of independent directors to evaluate such a proposal.

The Nordstrom family owned about 54.6 million shares, or 33.4% stake in the company, as of Sept. 4. Liverpool owns 15.8 million shares, or nearly 10% of the shares.

The deal would be financed through a combination of rollover equity and cash from the Nordstrom family and Liverpool as well as $250 million in new bank financing.

In May, Reuters reported that Sycamore Partners had shown interest in taking the company private.

The chain was founded in 1901 by John Nordstrom, the great-grandfather of the current CEO and president.

In 2018, Nordstrom rejected a $8.4 billion bid from the family, saying it was too small and later ended discussions after failing to agree on a price.