The Nordstrom department store (Saul Loeb/Getty Images)

Nordstroms try nabbing Nordstrom for no premium

For the second time in seven years, the namesake family is trying to buy Nordstrom on a Nordstrom Rack budget.

9/5/24 2:40PM

Normally, when an interested party wants to take a public company private, they offer to purchase the company at a premium to its current valuation. The reasons for the premium can vary, but two common ones are that a strong premium discourages competing bids, and management teams are more likely to reject offers that they perceive as too low. Take Elon Musk’s bid to buy Twitter, for example: he offered to purchase all outstanding shares at an 18% premium to the stock’s closing price from the day before.

Another example is Macy’s. On December 10, 2023, an investor group led by Arkhouse Management and Bridge Capital Management offered to acquire Macy’s for $5.8 billion, or $21 per share, which was a 32% premium to the retailer’s stock price from the previous trading day’s close. After Macy’s board rejected the offer, the bidders raised their price to $24 per share, then $24.80, but Macy’s board ultimately rejected these offers as well, stating that “it was unclear that the investors could finance a deal and it was not in shareholders’ best interest.”

The prevalence of the “acquisition premium” makes the details of a recent offer for another clothing retailer especially interesting:

The Nordstrom family and Mexican retailer El Puerto de Liverpool, who collectively own 44% of the company, made an offer Wednesday to purchase all outstanding shares of the company for $23 per share.

Nordstrom’s closing price on Tuesday? $22.78. And the stock closed above $23 as recently as July 18 of this year. The acquisition premium here is effectively $0. Per Bloomberg, Morningstar analyst David Swartz said that the board might reject the bid for being too low.

For context, in April, after the Nordstrom family announced that it was looking to take its retail chain private, the company’s board formed a “special committee of independent and disinterested directors,” which did not include board members Erik and Pete Nordstrom, to “carefully evaluate any proposal from Erik and Pete Nordstrom” and other parties. This is the first of such offers since the formation of the special committee, but it’s not the first time the Nordstrom family tried to take its company private.

In 2017, the Nordstrom family looked to take the company private at $48 to $50 per share in what would have been a ~$10 billion leveraged buyout with PE firm Leonard Green & Partners, but the deal failed because they 1) struggled to raise enough debt and 2) offered too low of a price to shareholders. To quote The Wall Street Journal from 2018:

“This should not be a take under situation,” said Tony Scherrer, director of research at Smead Capital Management, which owns nearly 900,000 Nordstrom shares. “It seems like they want to pay a zero premium, and that seems like a tough place from which to negotiate. I would think they would want shareholders to applaud them on their way out the door.”
The special committee said it had directed its advisers and company management to not allow the group to conduct further due diligence unless it “promptly and substantially” improves its offer.

Seven years later, while the debt issue is less relevant (the 2017 deal would have required $7 to $8 billion in financing, compared to $250 million in this one), the Nordstrom family is, once again, hoping the board will bite on a lowball bid. While the $50 bid from seven years ago looks like a missed opportunity with the stock down more than 50% since then, it’s going to be tough for a board to agree to a take-private deal with $0 upside for current shareholders, especially considering their special committee was formed to explore “possible avenues to enhance shareholder value.”

Tom Jones6/24/26

Prime Day is here again and Amazon’s subscription service has never been more popular

Well, it’s that time of year again: many have made their wish lists, people are scraping together the money they’ve saved to pick out a perfect gift, some are presumably leaving out refreshments for the weary delivery drivers and, more and more, drones.

It’s Amazon Prime Day — meaning that it’s the second day of the four-day promotional event that Amazon still calls Prime Day — of course, and it’s even come early this year, with the company bringing the period into late June from July, when it’s been traditionally held for the last five years.

The Prime Age

Alongside the eyes and endless clicks that the arbitrary stream of listicles on “The Best Prime Day Deals” that almost every media outlet pours into, Amazon will also be cheering the fact that there’s now more Prime users than ever before to devour the retailer and its sellers’ sometimes-contested “discounts.” Indeed, according to the latest annual estimates from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), there were just over 200 million American shoppers using Amazon’s massive subscription service at the end of 2025.

Max Knoblauch6/15/26

Electronic Arts launches a platform to put more ads in its games

Video game publishing giant EA launched a new platform on Monday designed to make the process of selling immersive ad space in its popular games easier.

The company says the platform, called EA Advertising, allows brands to “integrate directly into gameplay through dynamic, real-time placements, from stadium signage to custom in-game content.”

More so than other studios, EA has incorporated advertising into its most popular titles. As Kotaku points out, the company’s ad efforts stretch as far back as 2006. Several of its sports franchises already feature partnerships with brands like Visa, Lowe’s, Red Bull, and PepsiCo.

In-game advertising hasn’t exactly been embraced by fans, but industry experts expect it to ramp up as companies seek more revenue to offset higher games budgets and surging memory costs. EA rival Take-Two has taken a different approach, with CEO Strauss Zelnick recently saying the company was “not at risk of doing brand partnerships” in the forthcoming “Grand Theft Auto VI,” and that ads in full-price games seems “unfair.”

The $55 billion deal to take EA private, led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, is set to close at the end of this month. Being the largest leveraged buyout in history, EA will likely look for more ways to boost revenue to cover interest payments.

Electronic Arts Makes Push for Ad Dollars Tied to Sports

Millie Giles6/11/26

JM Smucker says it sold $1 billion worth of Uncrustables in FY2026

After years of booming sandwich sales, JM Smucker has finally earned a billion-dollar crust.

On Tuesday, the company reported results for fiscal year 2026, highlighting better-than-expected profits driven by higher prices for coffee and sweet baked goods. However, at another point on the earnings call, CEO Mark Smucker pointed to one particularly jammy figure: in line with previous forecasts, the company sold $1 billion worth of its (almost always) crustless sandwiches, Uncrustables, in the last year alone.

Max Knoblauch6/8/26

Paramount reportedly offers concessions to resolve multistate antitrust investigation

Paramount has reportedly offered up some concessions in an effort to prevent an antitrust lawsuit by California and about 10 other states, according to Bloomberg reporting on Monday.

Reuters first reported on the potential suit from a group of unnamed states last week, which could throw a wrench in Paramount’s plans to buy rival Warner Bros. Discovery in a Hollywood megamerger.

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

Paramount Offers Concessions to Head Off State Antitrust Lawsuit

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

$98B ⛽

Max Knoblauch6/8/26

The IATA released its latest financial outlook for the airline industry over the weekend, forecasting a $98 billion jump in the sector’s collective fuel bill. The world’s largest trade group representing airlines expects the oil spike to halve profits by 49% from last year to $23 billion.

The group also expects profit margins to halve year over year, falling from 2025’s 4.2% to 2%. Still, revenue is expected to climb to $1.17 trillion from $1.07 trillion.

A surge in the cost of jet fuel has rocked US and global airlines this year, leading Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, and others to raise fares and ancillary charges like bag fees. Low-cost carriers, which operate on smaller margins, have been squeezed the hardest, resulting in Spirit’s shutdown.

“It’s a tough year for all airlines, especially those whose balance sheets had not yet recovered from COVID. And, of course, for those operating in the Gulf,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh, who added that demand is holding up and about half of passengers expect to spend more on travel this year. “That bodes well for a strong northern summer peak season. The big unknown is how long travelers and shippers can tolerate the higher costs of connectivity.”