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Kohl's, an American department store chain, is now up for sale and may soon have a new owner. It was revealed earlier this week that its operator, Kohl's Corporation, is in talks with the Franchise Group (FRG) for a possible acquisition deal.
Kohl's entered into a 3-week negotiation period with the American publicly traded holding company that manages franchise companies and owns several retail brands. According to CNN Business, the Franchise Group already dropped a proposal to acquire the department store chain for $60 per share.
Kohl's stock closed at $42.12 on Monday and reportedly shot up 10% during the early trading on Tuesday when the possible acquisition was reported. If the deal pushes through, Kohl's value will be about $8 billion, which is almost five times more than its worth last week.
Then again, the company reminded that while the negotiation with the Franchise Group is ongoing, there is still no guarantee that it will end up with a deal. Kohl's has recently attracted a lot of investors and bidders as it put up a "for sale" sign on its door.
Kohl's operates more than 1,100 stores in the United States and earns about $19 billion per year. It is the largest department store chain in the country, but the entire retail store industry has been declining for years due to the growing competition from the likes of Amazon, Walmart, and Target, which have also included items that were previously only available in department stores.
"The purpose of the exclusive period is to allow FRG and its financing partners to finalize due diligence and financing arrangements and for the parties to complete the negotiation of binding documentation," Reuters quoted Kohl's department store as saying in a statement.
Meanwhile, Kohl's also said that any acquisition deal that it will sign is still subject to the approval of the board. The company also made it clear that until the agreement is finalized, the negotiation is still not considered successful. Other bidders for the buyout include Simon Property Group Inc., Sycamore Partners, and Brookfield Asset Management Inc.
