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Nordstrom family offers $3.76 billion bid to take century-old department store private
Members of the Nordstrom family with the help of a Mexican retail group are offering to take the century-old department store private for $3.76 billion, months after first expressing interest in a buyout.
In a letter to the board of directors dated Tuesday, Erik Nordstrom said the Nordstrom family members own about 33.4% of the company’s outstanding common stock and is willing to pay investors $23 for each share they own.
The Mexican retail group, called El Puerto de Liverpool, operates more than 300 stores in Mexico and is that nation’s third-largest credit card issuer with over 7.2 million active accounts. It already owns approximately 9.6% of Nordstrom stock.
The offer represents a premium of nearly 35% to Nordstrom’s stock since March 18 when media reports about the proposed transaction first emerged, shares have rallied this year and traded for just above $23 on Wednesday.
“That the Nordstrom family have made an offer to buy the department store chain comes as no surprise. What is interesting is the $23 a share value which is pretty much the current price of the stock, said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData. “The lack of any real premium would, under normal circumstances, make the offer unattractive. However, as a family-run firm the dynamics are slightly different, and it will be up to an independent committee to determine whether this is in the best interests of the company and its investors.”
Nordstrom last month reported sales growth of 3.4% in the second quarter, as sales in stores open at least a year — a key metric of a retailer’s health — rose 1.9%. But net income slipped nearly 11% to $122 million. Adjusted earnings per share totaled 96 cents, and overall results beat analyst estimates. Besides its namesake upscale stores, the company also operates discount Nordstrom Rack stores, which have become a strength.
Sales at Nordstrom Rack jumped 8.8% in the most recent quarter and its comparable sales rose 4.1%.
“The offer comes at a time when Nordstrom is getting back on track after a long period of poor performance,” Saunders said. “However, the business remains one of two halves. The department store division has various structural challenges, while the off-price Rack division is starting to produce some good growth. This mixed outlook will limit the amount any party is willing to pay.”
Erik B. and Peter E. Nordstrom are the fourth-generation leaders of the retailer, which was founded in 1901 as a shoe store. Erik is the company’s chief executive and Peter is president. In the regulatory filing the family cited the health of their late father Bruce Nordstrom as one impetus behind the proposed transaction. Former chairman Bruce Nordstrom died in May at 90 years old.
The Nordstroms and their partner say they have commitments for $250 million in new bank financing.
Nordstrom, based in Seattle, acknowledged receipt of the proposal and a special committee of the board of directors — which it had already formed in April — will evaluate the offer.
Shares of Nordstrom, up 27% this year, edged slightly higher to $23.16 Wednesday.
U.S. and European law enforcement agencies are working together to investigate whether incendiary devices detonated in July at DHL logistics hubs in Germany and the U.K. were part of a larger operation directed by Russian Intelligence services (in particular, the GRU — Russian military intelligence), the highest level of the Russian government or by outside individuals acting in the interests of Russia, a source familiar with the matter said.
Officials are working to determine whether the larger operation was to place similar devices on aircraft servicing the U.S. and U.S. allies. The Wall Street Journal first reported the alleged plot targeting U.S. aircraft.
The 2025 Homeland Threat Assessment published at the end of October said the U.S. continues to be concerned about threats to the aviation and air cargo systems, including the “potential use of the air cargo supply chain to ship concealed dangerous and potentially deadly items.”
DHL said in a statement that it was aware “of two recent incidents involving shipments in our network. We are fully cooperating with the relevant authorities to protect our people, our network and our customers’ shipments.”
“We continually adjust our security posture as appropriate and promptly share any and all relevant information with our industry partners, to include requirements and recommendations that help them reduce risk,” the Transportation Security Administration said in a statement.
“Over the past several months, as part of a multi-layered security approach, TSA worked with industry partners to put additional security measures for U.S. aircraft operators and foreign air carriers regarding certain cargo shipments bound for the United States, in line with the 2021 TSA Air Cargo Security Roadmap,” the TSA’s statement continued.
The FBI declined to comment.
contributed to this report.
Boeing’s 33,000 unionized machinists on Wednesday voted to approve the plane manufacturer’s latest contract offer, ending a seven-week strike that had halted production of most of the company’s passenger planes.
The union said 59% voted to accept the contract. Members have the option of returning to work as soon as Wednesday, but must be back at work by Tuesday, November 12, the union said in a statement.
Union leaders had strongly urged members to ratify the latest proposal, which would boost wages by 38% over the four-year life of the contract, up from a proposed increase of 35% that members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) had rejected last month.
The revised deal also provides a $12,000 cash bonus to hourly workers and increased contributions to retirement savings plans. The enhanced offer doesn’t address a key sticking point in the contentious talks — restoration of pensions — but Boeing would raise its contributions to employee 401K plans.
Average annual pay for machinists, now $75,608, would climb to $119,309 in four years under the current offer, Boeing said.
The vote came after IAM members in September and October rejected lesser offers by the Seattle-based aerospace giant.
“In every negotiation and strike, there is a point where we have extracted everything we can in bargaining and by withholding our labor,” the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers stated last week in backing Boeing’s revised offer. “We are at that point now and risk a regressive or lesser offer in the future.”
Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su has played an active role in the negotiations, after recently helping to end a days-long walkout that briefly closed East and Gulf Coast ports.
The Boeing strike that began on Sept. 13 marked the latest setback for the manufacturing giant, which has been the focus of multiple federal probes after a door plug blew off a 737 Max plane during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. The incident revived concerns about the safety of the aircraft after two crashed within five months in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people.
Boeing in July agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud for deceiving regulators who approved the 737 Max.
During the strike, Boeing was unable to produce any new 737 aircraft, which are made at the company’s assembly plants in the Seattle area. One major Boeing jet, the 787 Dreamliner, is manufactured at a nonunion factory in South Carolina.
The company last month reported a third-quarter loss of $6.1 billion.
contributed to this report.
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