In a deal that could turn longtime retail rivals into best friends, JCPenney has reportedly made a bid to acquire Kohl's for $8.6 billion.
Shopping-mall giant Simon Property and Canada-based Brookfield Asset Management, which bought JCPenney out of bankruptcy in December 2020, have offered to buy Kohl's for $68 a share, according to the New York Post.
If the deal goes through, JCPenney and Kohl's would operate as two separate brands under one management team, a "well-placed" source close to the talks told The Post. The arrangement could cut Kohl's costs by $1 billion over the next three years, the source said.
What does that mean for shoppers? You probably won't notice a huge difference. Both stores would operate independently, so there wouldn't be any "JC Kohl's" or "Ko Penney" rebranding necessary. However, it's not clear if any store locations would be closing under the deal.
If the companies combine, they would sell all private apparel manufactured by the same in-house label, according to The Post. The new business would also reportedly ditch plans to roll out Sephora concession stands inside Kohl's locations.
Shares of Kohl's went up by more than 4% Monday following the announcement, CBS News reported.
Kohl's put itself up for sale earlier this year under mounting pressure from unhappy investors. The retailer reportedly received multiple preliminary offers and hired Goldman Sachs to coordinate with bidders.
Kohl's so far has rejected all takeover offers for being too low, including one bid that was worth $64 a share, according to Bloomberg.
Neither Kohl's or JCPenney have commented on the deal.
JCPenney operates 689 stores across the U.S., while Kohl's has 1,156 stores.
Related
Related
