The move comes ahead of a shareholder vote later this month to approve Hudson’s Bay Executive Chairman Richard Baker’s C$2 billion ($1.51 billion) bid to take the retailer private. As a private company, Hudson’s Bay will be able to invest in its business without facing scrutiny from public shareholders.
Sears’ billionaire owner Eddie Lampert rescued the retailer from liquidation in a $5.2 billion takeover during bankruptcy proceedings a year ago. The company’s unabated need for new funding underscores Lampert’s challenges in turning it around.
The epidemic, which originated in China’s Hubei province and has claimed more than 2,000 lives, has raised concerns on its economic fallout stretching further into 2020, as companies have been forced to shut stores and curtail manufacturing in the critical market.
Brand management company Authentic Brands said on Wednesday it and mall owner Simon Property would own 37.5% each of the retailer, while Brookfield Property would buy 25% of the intellectual property and operating businesses.
FILE PHOTO: People walk by the Amazon Go brick-and-mortar grocery store without lines or checkout counters, in Seattle Washington, U.S. December 5, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Redmond
FILE PHOTO: The Apple logo is shown atop an Apple store at a shopping mall in La Jolla, California, U.S., December 17, 2019, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
Heavy investments to spruce up stores, enhance websites, improve delivery options and promote deals underscore the battle retailers are up against as they try to keep shoppers from going to Amazon.
FILE PHOTO: People wearing masks are seen at a main shopping area, in downtown Shanghai, China, as the country is hit by an outbreak of a new coronavirus, February 16, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo
