Will Nordstrom Take Itself Private?

June 8, 2017 by Chris Lange

Shares of Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) saw a handy gain on Thursday after it was announced that members of the Nordstrom family may be looking to take this company private. Reportedly, company Co-Presidents Blake W. Nordstrom, Peter E. Nordstrom and Erik B. Nordstrom, President of Stores James F. Nordstrom, Chairman Emeritus Bruce A. Nordstrom and Anne E. Gittinger have formed a group to explore the possibility of pursuing a “going private transaction” involving the acquisition by the group of 100% of the outstanding shares of common stock of the company.

As of yet there has not been a proposal made for this transaction.

In a release to the public, the department store detailed:

No assurances can be given regarding the terms and details of any transaction, that any proposal will be made by the Group, that any proposal made by the Group regarding a proposed transaction will be accepted by the Special Committee, that definitive documentation relating to any such transaction will be executed, or that a transaction will be consummated in accordance with that documentation, if at all.

In the most recent settlement period, Nordstrom reported 28.18 million shares short, compared with the previous period that had 28.43 million. Following the announcement that the company might go private, we can expect this number might fall off.

Excluding Thursday’s move, the stock is down over 15% year to date. However, in the past 52 weeks the stock is relatively flat.

Shares of Nordstrom were trading up 16% at $47.00 on Thursday, with a consensus analyst price target of $47.35 and a 52-week range of $35.01 to $62.82.

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