Kohl’s Receives Buyout Bids

Sycamore, a private equity firm based in New York that specializes in retail, offered $65 per share in a buyout bid––a 39% premium on the company’s share price, CNBC reported. Sycamore’s offer came only days after Acacia Research, backed by Starboard Value, offered $64 per share for Kohl’s. 

Acacia Research and Starboard Value seek to partner with Oak Street Real Estate Capital to sell off Kohl’s real estate to raise more money, CNBC reported, citing people familiar with the deal. Kohl’s has not been supportive of similar sale-leaseback deals in the past. 

The offers come after activist investors have pushed Kohl’s to make major business changes, including considering a sale. In December 2021, New York-based hedge fund Engine Capital urged the department store chain to spin off its e-commerce business in an effort to boost the company’s stock price. Kohl’s has also been executing its strategy to become a destination for an “active and casual lifestyle.”

Kohl’s confirmed it received the offers and will make a determination in the best interest of shareholders and the company.