Two bidders seek discount price to buy Kohl’s: report

Kohl’s received two offers Thursday to buy the struggling retail giant – both well below the amount the company turned down earlier this year and expected even a few weeks ago, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The takeover bids came from private-equity firm Sycamore Partners, which offered a price in the mid-$50s a share, and retail holding company Franchise Group, at around $60, The Journal reported. 

Franchise Group has a $1.6 billion market cap, raising questions about how it could afford Kohl’s, which has a $5.3 billion cap, a hedge fund manager said after the WSJ story appeared. 

Multiple sources told The Post earlier in the day that Kohl’s may push back the deadline for bids because of lowball offers.

Kohl’s had indicated it wanted a price of at least $70 a share and a hedge fund manager following the process believed that Sycamore’s offer was a non-starter.

“It’s an ongoing process,” that may or may not result in a sale, a source close to Kohl’s told The Post.

Kohl’s shares closed at $41.18 on Thursday, but were up 7% in after hours trading after news of the bids broke.

The rival offers would value a deal at around $7 billion or $8 billion – after the Wisconsin-based retailer rejected an offer of $64 a share, equating to $9 billion, earlier this year.

Kohl’s scared off bidders after delivering weaker-than-expected first-quarter financial results, citing a decline in consumer spending at its 1,100 stores – even as other retailers like Macy’s report strong sales.

Just two weeks ago, Kohl’s chief executive, Michelle Gass, boasted about the “number of parties who recognize the value of our business and plan.”

But “multiple parties” ended up not submitting an offer, sources close to the sale process told The Post.

The sources said the entire process could be delayed, possibly until after the next quarter, to give Kohl’s time to stabilize its business, which saw comparable sales decline by 5.2% from a year ago.

“This is a sale that needs more time,” an advisor close to the deal told The Post. It “has become a dysfunctional process.”

Kohl’s declined to comment for this story. 

The company is facing increasing pressure from activist investor Macelleum Advisors, which threatened on May 20 to sue the retailer, alleging that Kohl’s withheld information about its financial performance in order to win a proxy fight with the investor.

“We are actively exploring claims against the board and will take legal action, if necessary,” Macellum’s managing partner Jonathan Duskin said in a statement at the time.

Macellum wanted to replace 10 directors on Kohl’s board, claiming that they rubber-stamped a losing business strategy that has cost the company market share.

The company’s shareholders voted against Macellum’s slate a week before they knew about the company’s poor results and that two key executives were leaving Kohl’s.

The sales process was a “sham to not lose board seats to the activist” another source close to the auction told The Post.