Department Store Sector Heats Up As Nordstrom Considers Go-Private Deal

Nordstrom, Inc (NYSE: JWN) shares were up 23 percent in Thursday’s pre-market session after announcing members of the Nordstrom family have formed a group to explore pursuing a go-private deal involving the group buying 100 percent of outstanding shares.

The spike put Nordstrom shares at their highest price since May 11, hovering around $46.

The group has not yet made an offer to the company, which said that it couldn't make any assurances regarding a potential transaction.

Sympathetic Moves Seen

Several other department stores were trading higher on the news, including J C Penney Company Inc (NYSE: JCP), Macy’s Inc (NYSE: M) and Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE: KSS).

The SPDR S&P Retail (ETF) (NYSE: XRT) was also trading slightly higher.

Retail Weighs Options

Several retailers have considered pursuing similar moves after facing increasingly harsh competition in the last few years.

Related Link: Retail Roundup: 9 Fresh M&A Rumors

In January last year, Kohl’s also considered going private and saw its shares rise on the news.

There has been chatter that Hudson’s Bay (OTC: HBAYYF) is looking to buy Macy’s, and that Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) has been interested in taking over BJ’s Wholesale Club.

At last check, shares of Nordstrom were up 13.41 percent at $45.91.

Related Links:

Barron's Picks And Pans: Retail Stocks, Berkshire Hathaway And More

How Empathy Will Save Brick-And-Mortar Retail
______
Image Credit: By Mike8411251995 - Own work, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons