A sign marks the location of a Nordstrom store on March 20, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois.
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Nordstrom on Monday announced It will become a private company after agreeing to a buyout deal worth about $6.25 billion from Nordstrom’s founding family and Mexican department store El Puerto de Liverpool.
The company’s board of directors unanimously approved the transaction, which is expected to close in the first half of 2025.
As part of the deal, the Nordstrom family will hold a majority stake in the company with 50.1%, while Liverpool will own 49.9%. Common shareholders will receive $24.25 in cash for each Nordstrom common share they hold, according to a press release.
“For over a century, Nordstrom has operated with the core principle of making its customers feel and look good,” Nordstrom CEO Erik Nordstrom said in a press release. “Today marks the start of an exciting new chapter for the company. On behalf of my family, we look forward to working with our teams to ensure Nordstrom continues to thrive well into the future.”
It’s not the first time the retailer has tried to go private. An earlier attempt fizzles out in 2018. In September, the Nordstrom family offered $23 per share for the chain, which valued the company at around $3.76 billion.
Nordstrom shares fell about 1% in early trading. Since then, the company’s shares have risen sharply a Reuters report in March that the family wanted to privatize the company.
Nordstrom Beat Wall Street November sales expectations for the third quarter as sales rose about 4% year-over-year. However, the company gave only a slightly more optimistic full-year sales forecast, anticipating a weak holiday season.
Luxury clothing stores were under pressure, as were retailers Walmart, Best buy And Goal have reported that customers continue to be picky about purchasing items that meet their wants rather than their needs and have paid more attention to price.
Nordstrom was founded in 1901 as a shoe store and then grew into a department store that sells a wide selection of clothing and accessories at more than 350 Nordstrom, Nordstrom Local and Nordstrom Rack locations.
El Puerto de Liverpool operates two other department store chains, Liverpool and Suburbia, and owns 29 shopping centers throughout Mexico.
