Kohl's takeover talks with Franchise Group end without deal

Kohl's Corp., KSS, announced Friday that takeover talks with Franchise Group have ended without a deal. Franchise Group FRG, the top bidder at $60 per share, was the top bidder after Kohl engaged with 25 companies. Despite a concerted effort on both sides, the current financing and retail environment has created significant obstacles to reach an acceptable and fully executable agreement. Peter Boneparth, chair of the Board, said that the Board was not prudent to continue pursuing a deal because of the environment and market volatility. There had been media reports of an end to the talks earlier on Friday, which sent Kohl's shares plunging more than 11% before the stock was halted. Franchise Group stock fell 3.2% in Friday premarket trading. After second quarter results are announced, Kohl's board reaffirmed its commitment to a $500 million accelerated share repurchase ASR program. The company also talked about its partnership with Sephora and plans to open 100 smaller-format locations as part of a plan to grow the business. For the second quarter, the company now expects sales to be down high-single digits year-over-year compared to previous guidance for down low-single digits. The FactSet consensus is for sales of $4.127 billion, a 2.3% decline. The company will announce its second quarter results on August 18. Kohl's stock has fallen 27.7% for the year to date.