Arkhouse Management Co. LP submitted an increased all-cash proposal to acquire Macy’s for $24.00 per share along with its partner, Brigade Capital Management (“Brigade”). Arkhouse and Brigade have also disclosed additional information about their financing, including identifying Fortress Investment Group LLC and One Investment Management as equity capital partners for the proposed transaction.
The revised offer represents:
- A 51.3% premium to Macy’s unaffected share price on Nov. 30, 2023, the day prior to Arkhouse and Brigade submitting their original proposal on Dec. 1, 2023;
- A 33.3% premium to where the Company’s shares closed on March 1, 2024; and
- An increase of 14.3% from Arkhouse and Brigade’s previous offer of $21.00 per share that was submitted to the Company on Dec. 1, 2023.
Gavriel Kahane and Jonathon Blackwell, Arkhouse Managing Partners, said:
“We remain frustrated by the delay tactics adopted by Macy’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) and its continued refusal to engage with our credible buyer group. Nonetheless, we are steadfast in our commitment to execute this transaction. In recent months, Macy’s has introduced two restructurings and a dividend hike. The stock price selloff following these announcements is a strong indication of shareholder concern about maintaining the status quo. We continue to offer the Company an attractive alternative solution through a sale of the Company at a substantial premium. This would provide Macy’s stockholders with significant value and immediate liquidity.
While the restructuring plan Macy’s unveiled last week failed to inspire investors, the fourth quarter earnings and year-end results have given us further confidence in the long-term prospects of the Company if redirected as a private company. After coordinating with our financing sources, we have increased our offer to $24.00 per share in cash. We remain open to increasing the purchase price further subject to the customary due diligence.
The notion that the plan we are proposing is not actionable is simply not true. We have tried repeatedly to address the concerns raised by the Company. We clarified the 50% equity contribution we laid out three months ago and disclosed our partnership with two highly regarded investors – Fortress and OneIM. With the help of our advisors, we have identified large global institutional financing sources for each debt component of the transaction with strong interest in finalizing commitments during a customary diligence process. These sources represent 100% of the capital required to buy the shares in Macy’s we do not already own at our proposed price of $24.00 per share in cash. We have struggled to understand what reservations the Board might have at this point and urge the Company to engage with us in good faith with the goal of reaching a transaction that would unlock significant value for all stockholders.
We sincerely hope the members of the Board are not so entrenched in their views about the future direction of the Company that they would ignore their fiduciary duties to explore a potential transaction with a credible buyer. We remain ready to proceed expeditiously with our due diligence toward a mutually agreeable transaction to acquire Macy’s at a substantial premium in cash.”
Jefferies LLC is serving as financial advisor and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is serving as transaction counsel to the bidding group in connection with the proposed acquisition of Macy’s. Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP is serving as legal counsel and Longacre Square Partners is serving as strategic advisor to Arkhouse. Morrow Sodali is serving as proxy advisor.