(News Bulletin 247) – Two investment companies have made an offer of $5.8 billion to take over the famous New York company, according to several American media. As a result, its action approaches the premium that would be offered to shareholders.

On the occasion of Thanksgiving, you may have seen photos of a magnificent parade in the streets of Manhattan, with giant balloons honoring various well-known figures from popular culture, such as Olaf from “Frozen”. “, SpongeBob, Luffy from “One Piece” or even Spider-Man.

This parade contributes every year to the reputation of the famous American store chain Macy’s. The Herald Square store in Manhattan also claims the crown of the largest store in the world with an area of ​​230,000 square meters (according to the World Record Academy).

Macy’s is listed on the stock exchange and is experiencing a complicated year in 2023, with its stock falling 15.8%. A fall which apparently whetted the appetites of investors. According to the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg, both citing sources familiar with the matter, Arkhouse Management, an investment company specializing in real estate, and Brigade Capital Management, an asset manager, made an offer on December 1 to buy the company for a total of $5.8 billion, or $21 per share. This reflects a premium of approximately 21% compared to the closing price on Friday evening.

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An action far from its highest

Asked by Bloomberg, representatives for Macy’s and the two investment firms did not comment.

As a result, the store chain’s action jumped this Monday on Wall Street in pre-opening, with the title gaining 14.8% a little before 2:40 p.m.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the opinion of Macy’s management on this approach is not yet known. “The group of investors, which believes that Macy’s is undervalued on the public markets, indicated that it would be willing to raise its offer subject to due diligence (prior checks, Editor’s note)”, indicates the American daily .

Even with this 20% premium, the offer would imply a price per share significantly lower than the peak of nearly $70 that Macy’s experienced in 2015, before the stock fell, buckling under the weight of competition from digital players. . All distribution groups have also suffered again this year, with the market fearing the consequences of high inflation on household spending. In addition to Macy’s, Target, another famous store chain, loses 9% for the whole of 2023.

In the third quarter of 2023, Macy’s sales fell 7% in value, both in physical stores and online. Its earnings per share were more than halved to 21 cents. “The difficult context continues to slow down sales,” noted Bank of America at the time. “We expect sales pressure to continue as consumers prioritize spending on essentials and experiences over clothing,” she continued.

The Wall Street Journal points out that this is not the first time that Macy’s has attracted interest. In 2017, the Canadian company Hudson Bay Co unsuccessfully approached the company to buy it. Macy’s then studied a potential split of its e-commerce activities but without going through with it.