Kohl is under new pressure because Sycamor has expressed interest after Acacia Reuters made the offer

Author: Svea Herbst-Bayliss

(Reuters) – US retailers Kohl’s Corp (NYSE) may soon receive a second takeover bid as private equity firm Sycamore Partners prepares to bid since a consortium backed by activist investment firm Starboard Value proposed to buy the company, three sources, three source. he knew the subject on Sunday.

Sycamore Partners has spoken to Kohl about a potential offer worth about $ 9 billion, a source said. The company is willing to pay at least $ 65 in cash to the company, the source said.

Starboard-backed Acacia Research has offered to pay $ 64 for a stake in Kohl’s and the news comes two days after Reuters contacted Acacia last week to express interest in taking over its ownership.

There is no guarantee that Sycamore Partners will make an offer or reach an agreement with Sycamore or Acacia, sources said. Bloomberg reported Sycamore’s interest on Sunday and the Wall Street Journal reported its Acacia offer on Friday.

Representatives from Sycamore, Acacia and Kohl’s did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Sycamore’s interest in Kohl’s shows its continued interest in investor traders and the problems faced by brick and mortar sellers because the pandemic has driven customers to change their buying habits in favor of online retailers.

Kohl’s has been facing pressure from investor investors to perform better for about a year, and the ongoing misfortune has been more pronounced in recent weeks after the company’s share price rose by just 5% in the past year.

Last week, investment firm Macellum Advisors, which owns 5% of Kohl’s shares, told the company it was looking into strategic options, including sales, and warned that it intended to appoint a director to its board. At the end of last year, the activist company Engine Capital also said that Kohl’s wants to study a sale.

Macellum’s new pressure comes less than a year after, along with two other activists, Kohl reunited three new directors when he reached a board agreement. Macellum called 2021 “another lost year” at Kohl’s and criticized a 22% drop in share prices from April to last week.

Kohl’s said last week that its “strategy is delivering results” and that management and management are “refusing to be distracted” from offering stronger results to all investors.

Sources said Acacia and Starboard, one of the most respected and busy activist investors in the industry, would likely work with Oak Street Real Estate Capital to try to sell shares of Kohl’s real estate to gain additional capital for a transaction. Kohl’s has historically been opposed to the sale of its real estate.