A sign marks the location of a Nordstrom store on March 20, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois.
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Northstream announced Monday that it will become a private company after agreeing to a buyout deal worth about $6.25 billion from Nordstrom's founding family and Mexican department store El Puerto de Liverpool.
The company's board of directors unanimously approved the transaction, which is expected to close in the first half of 2025.
As part of the deal, the Nordstrom family will have a majority stake in the company, with 50.1%, and Liverpool 49.9%. Common shareholders will receive $24.25 in cash for each share of Nordstrom common stock they own, according to a news release.
“For more than a century, Nordstrom has operated on the fundamental principle of helping customers feel and look their best,” Erik Nordstrom, CEO of Nordstrom, said in a press release. “Today marks an exciting new chapter for the company. On behalf of my family, we look forward to working with our teams to ensure Nordstrom can continue to thrive well into the future.”
It's not the first time the retailer has tried to go private. An earlier attempt failed in 2018. In September, the Nordstrom family offered $23 per share for the chain, which valued the company at about $3.76 billion.
Nordstrom shares fell about 1% in early trading. The company's shares have skyrocketed since a Reuters report in March that the family wanted to take the company private.
Nordstrom in November exceeded Wall Street sales expectations for its fiscal third quarter, with revenue growing about 4% year over year. But the company gave only a slightly rosier sales forecast for the full year, saying it expected a mild holiday season.
Luxury clothing stores are under pressure as are retailers Walmart, Best buy And Goal have reported that customers remain picky when it comes to purchasing items that are wants and not needs, and have paid more attention to price.
Nordstrom was founded in 1901 as a shoe store before transforming into a department store that sells a wide variety of clothing and accessories at more than 350 Nordstrom, Nordstrom Local and Nordstrom Rack locations.
El Puerto de Liverpool operates two other department store chains, Liverpool and Suburbia, and owns 29 shopping centers throughout Mexico.