Best Buy Founder’s Buyout Bid Ends

by Christopher Freeburn | March 1, 2013 9:16 am

[1]Best Buy‘s (NYSE:BBY[2]) founder has not made a bid to take the struggling chain private[3]. Despite the lack of a bid, Best Buy shares surged about 5% in pre-market trading on Friday.

The big box electronics retailer said that Richard Schulze had until Thursday to make a bid under a prior agreement with the company’s board. Instead, sources told Bloomberg  that Schulze had and attempted to obtain three seats on Best Buy’s board by acquiring a minority stake in the chain with a group of private equity firms, but those talks have ended.

Rumors had surfaced in recent weeks that Schulze had been unable to raise the needed financing[4] for a takeover bid and was concentrating on taking a minority stake as an alternatives.

Schulze remains Best Buy’s biggest shareholder, controlling about 20% of its stock. He was forced to step down as chairman[5] in June after it emerged that he had failed to inform the board of an improper relationship between ousted CEO Brian Dunn and a female employee.

In August, Schulze announced that he would make a bid to take Best Buy private[6], offering between $24 and $26 a share.

The company has hired turnaround expert Hubert Joly as its CEO and has announced job cuts at its Minnesota headquarters[7].

Shares of Best Buy in Friday pre-market trading.

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2013/03/best-buy-founders-buyout-bid-ends/

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