By Sabrina Escobar
Nordstrom's board of directors is forming a special committee to explore whether the company should be taken private by members of the Nordstrom family, the retailer announced Thursday.
Earlier this year, reports emerged that members of the Nordstrom family were considering taking the company private. Nordstrom confirmed the reports Thursday, noting that CEO Erik Nordstrom and company president Pete Nordstrom had informed the board of their intent in pursuing a bid.
The committee was formed in response to the Nordstroms' proposal, the company said Thursday.
"The special committee will carefully evaluate any proposal from Erik and Pete Nordstrom and any proposals from other parties and consider whether they are in the best interests of Nordstrom and all shareholders, " the company said in a statement, adding that there was "no assurance" that a deal would be approved.
The committee has retained Morgan Stanley and Centerview Partners as financial advisors.
This isn't the first time the Nordstrom family -- which collectively owns a roughly 30% stake in the company -- has tried to take the department store private. In 2017, a group of family members offered to buy the company for $50 a share, but the deal eventually fell through.
At the time, Nordstrom shares oscillated around the $40 mark. Shares closed at $18.74 on Thursday, popping 4.4% on the news, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Write to Sabrina Escobar at sabrina.escobar@barrons.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 18, 2024 16:45 ET (20:45 GMT)
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