A consortium backed by the activist investment firm Starboard Value proposed buying Kohl's Corp, three sources familiar with the matter said on Sunday that the company's private equity firm Sycamore Partners prepares to make a second takeover offer.
One source said that Sycamore Partners reached out to Kohl's about a potential offer that would value the company around $9 billion. The firm is willing to pay at least $65 a share in cash for the company, the source said.
According to a report last week, Acacia Research, backed by Starboard, offered to pay $64 a share for Kohl's, confirming that Acacia had reached out to the company to express its interest in a takeover.
KOHL There are no guarantees that Sycamore Partners will make a bid or that a deal will be reached with either Sycamore or Acacia, the sources said. The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday Sycamore's interest and the Wall Street Journal reported that the Acacia bid was on Friday.
Replacing representatives for Kohl's, Acacia and Sycamore didn't respond immediately to requests for comment.
Sycamore's interest in Kohl's shows investors' ongoing interest in retailers and the problems that brick and mortar retailers are facing as the pandemic has prompted customers to switch buying habits to online retailers.
Kohl's shares price went up only 5% in the last year after they were under pressure from activist investors to perform better for about a year and their ongoing unhappiness has become more visible in the last few weeks.
Last week, activist investment firm Macellum Advisors, which owns 5% of Kohl's stock, told the company to explore strategic options, including a sale, and warned that it planned to nominate directors on its board. Late last year, the activist firm Engine Capital said it wanted Kohl's to consider a sale.
Macellum's fresh pressure came less than a year after it, along with two other activists, reached a settlement that saw Kohl's add three new directors to the board. Macellum called 2021 another lost year at Kohl's and criticized the stock price's 22% drop from April through last week.
Kohl's strategy is producing results and management and the board doesn't want to deliver stronger results for all investors, according to Kohl's last week.
Sources said that Acacia and Starboard, one of the industry's most respected and busiest activist investors, would work with Oak Street Real Estate Capital to try and sell Kohl's real estate holdings to raise additional capital for a transaction. Kohl's has always been opposed to the sale of its real estate.