Hudson’s Bay president considers raising buyout offer

Richard Barker, the first executive of the Canadian group, wishes to raise the value of the buyout to eleven Canadian dollars by actions, the same amount that was offered by Catalyst Capital Group and was rejected by the board last December.

2 ene 2020 - 16:03

Hudson’s Bay president starts 2020 with new wishes. The first executive of the Canadian company, owner of Saks Fifth Avenue, has floated the idea to increase its offer to around eleven Canadian dollars per share. The initial offer presented by the group president, Richard Baker, and a group of investors was 10.3 Canadian dollars per share.

This is an offer that mirrors the one presented at the end of 2019 by the Catalyst Capital Group, which controls 17.5% of the capital, and that the group’s board rejected in December. Richard Baker then said in a statement that the bid had been dismissed because “Catalyst's financing plans would add the company to the long list of retailers who have been forced to close their doors, eliminate jobs and impact pensioners.”

Baker’s announcement propelled the group’s stock market actions last Tuesday. Securities shot up 31.7% on the last day of the year, up to 9.88 Canadian dollars per share. The chief executive of the Hudson’s Bay group and its partners control 57% of the company, but they need a majority of minority shareholders to seal an agreement.