Macy’s ends takeover talks with Arkhouse, Brigade

Macy’s tumbled on Monday after the department store chain said it had ended takeover talks with private equity firms Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management after months of negotiations.

The company said its board of directors had "unanimously determined" to terminate the talks "that have failed to lead to an actionable proposal with certainty of financing at a compelling value".

"The board intends for the management team to return its full focus to enhancing shareholder value through the execution of the company’s ‘A Bold New Chapter’ strategy," it said.

Macy’s said that on 26 June, Arkhouse and Brigade upped their offer to $24.80 per share in cash from $24.00 in March.

Macy’s said that since the second proposal in March, which was up from an initial offer of $21.00 per share, it has "expended hundreds of hours" addressing Arkhouse and Brigade’s "extensive" due diligence requests and it had gone "well beyond what is customarily required to obtain financing for a public company acquisition".

At 1455 BST, Macy’s shares were down 14.3% at $16.34.