Canadian retail giant Hudson’s Bay Company will pay $2.4 billion in cash for luxury retailer Saks, the New York Times reported. The deal will also include Saks’ flagship store, located at 611 Fifth Avenue between 49th and 50th streets.
Hudson’s Bay Company will pay $16 a share in cash, a 4.5 percent premium on Saks’s closing price on Friday, and about a premium of about 30 percent on the closing price May 20, when talk of a potential sale first emerged, according to the Times.
The combined company – which also owns Lord & Taylor and the Canadian chain Hudson’s Bay — will have about 320 retail locations worldwide, 179 of which are department stores.
“We are excited about what this opportunity and being part of a much larger enterprise can mean for the future of The Saks Fifth Avenue brand,” Steven Sadove, chief executive of Saks, told the Times.
Since Saks began entertaining the idea of a sale, it has had several other suitors, including private equity group Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and a Qatari sovereign wealth fund, the Times said. [NYT] – Hiten Samtani