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The Nordstrom family has finally taken their namesake department store chain private after its board of directors unanimously approved the transaction, the company announced Monday morning.
Alongside Mexican retailer El Puerto de Liverpool, members of the Nordstrom family including Erik, Pete and Jamie Nordstrom will purchase all of the company’s stock they don’t already own in an all-cash transaction, priced at $24.25 per share.
The deal values Nordstrom at $6.25 billion, or about a 40 percent premium to the company’s valuation on March 18, when reports of the deal first emerged. But the price tag is a discount compared to the family’s prior bid to take Nordstrom private: $8.4 billion, with help from private equity firm Leonard Green. That bid was ultimately rejected by its board in 2017.
After the $6.25 billion transaction closes next year, Nordstrom will no longer be listed on the public market and the Nordstrom family will have majority ownership with 50.1 percent of its shares. Liverpool will own the remaining 49.9 percent.
“For over a century, Nordstrom has operated with a foundational principle of helping customers feel good and look their best,” CEO Erik Nordstrom said in a statement. “Today marks an exciting new chapter for the business. On behalf of my family, we look forward to working with our teams to ensure Nordstrom thrives long into the future.”
Since at least 2017, the Nordstrom family has been eyeing the possibility of taking their namesake company private. Outside of the scrutiny of public investors, they will be able to make strategic decisions and investments to better equip Nordstrom for long-term success, analysts say.
“A lot of change and investment is needed to remedy recent missteps with merchandising, operations and store standards,” Neil Saunders, Managing Director of GlobalData, said in a statement regarding the transaction announcement Monday. “The family have the talent and ability to enact change as does El Puerto de Liverpool. They will likely run the business as a retailer rather than as some kind of financial play thing which, in our view, is a very positive thing for the long term health of the brand.”
Learn more:
Why Nordstrom’s Founding Family Wants to Take the Retailer Private
A private takeover bid is a bet that saving the department store chain will be easier away from public scrutiny.
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