Shares in Seattle-based department store chain (NYSE: JWN) Nordstrom may be catching a buzz Thursday morning on stock markets amid various media reports the family which owns the chain are proceeding with a deal with a private equity buyer.
Those same sources say a special committee of the board has been formed and bankers, lawyers and an outside public relations firm have been hired to help in the task. The Nordstrom family owns about 30% of the company.
The company said earlier this month that the family had begun to explore a take-private deal, though they had not yet made a proposal. Retailers are struggling with an industry-wide slowdown in sales that has hit shares of major department store operators.
It is said that a private equity owner might help Nordstrom restructure. Members of the family pursuing a deal include Co-Presidents Blake, Peter and Erik Nordstrom, the great-grandchildren of the co-founder.
Latest tidings out of the firm Thursday include plans to open a Nordstrom Rack in Glendale, Wisconsin. The approximately 26,800-square-foot store is scheduled to open in fall 2018. Nordstrom Rack will join existing retailers such as H&M, Ulta Beauty, iPic Cineplex, Trader Joe's and Kohl's.
Nordstrom shares have ballooned 13.8% since the closing price on June 7, the day before the company announced the possible deal. They are up 3.9% year to date. The shares approached noon ET on Thursday ahead 62 cents, or 1.4%, from Wednesday’s close to $46.70.