Consolidation activity intensified among department-store chains this week, highlighted by the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue closing in on a $2.65 billion deal to acquire Neiman Marcus on Thursday. This merger will create a new entity called Saks Global, which is projected to have about $10 billion in annual sales. Amazon.com (AMZN) has taken a minority stake in Saks Global, joining Salesforce (CRM) as a minority shareholder. Prior to this deal, Saks had business relationships with both Amazon and Salesforce. Amazon's stock rose on this news, closing up 1.2% on Friday after a 1.2% drop to $197.59 on Wednesday.
Elsewhere in the retail world, Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management increased their bid to take Macy's private. Kit Norton, an author for Investors Business Daily, reported on this event, stating that “Late Wednesday reports emerged that Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management have raised their bid to acquire Macy's by about $300 million. The new proposal to acquire the remaining Macy's stock which the management groups don't already own is now at $24.80 per share, or about $6.9 billion. In March, the management firms offered a deal of $24 a share, or $6.6 billion, for Macy's. That was up from the initial $21 per share offer the two firms submitted in late 2023.” In response to these developments, Macy's stock surged 9.5% to $19.64 on Friday, following a 0.6% increase to $17.93 on Wednesday. With increased consolidation in the department store industry, investors should monitor which companies emerge as major competitors poised for continued growth.
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