Consolidation activity amped up among department-store chains this week, with the parent-company of Saks Fifth Avenue officially cutting a $2.65 billion deal Thursday for Neiman Marcus. Amazon.com took a minority stake in the new entity. Meanwhile, two investment groups have increased their bid to take Macy's private.
The Saks-Nieman Marcus merger would result in a new entity called Saks Global with about $10 billion in annual sales, according to the Wall Street Journal. Amazon.com is getting in on the deal with a minority stake in Saks Global. Salesforce will also be minority shareholder, according to the report. Prior to the deal, Saks had already done business with both Salesforce and Amazon.
Meanwhile, late Wednesday reports emerged that Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management have raised their bid to acquire Macy's by about $300 million. The new proposal to acquire the remaining Macy's stock which the management groups don't already own is now at $24.80 per share, or about $6.9 billion.
In March, the management firms offered a deal of $24 a share, or $6.6 billion, for Macy's. That was up from the initial $21 per share offer the two firms submitted in late 2023.
Retail Stocks: Macy's Shares Surge Friday
On Friday, Macy's stock soared 9.5% to 19.64 during market action. On Wednesday, M shares angled 0.6% higher to 17.93. The stock market closed early, at 1 p.m. ET, on Wednesday and remained closed on Thursday. Trading on Friday resumed on normal schedule and Macy's soared nearly 10% just before the closing bell, to about 19.66.
Amazon stock was up 1.2% at Friday's close, after dropping 1.2% to 197.59 on Wednesday.
Macy's stock has a 76 Composite Rating out of a best-possible 99. Shares have a 76 Relative Strength Rating and a 78 EPS Rating.
The six stocks in the IBD-tracked Retail-Department Store industry group have collectively gained 4.5% in 2024, underperforming the broader market, according to MarketSurge analysis.
Please follow Kit Norton on X @KitNorton for more coverage.
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