Starboard controls Acacia Research Corp., the group making the buyout overture, according to the reports. Its offer would be a significant bump up from the Kohl’s current share price, which closed at $46.84 on Friday.
A spokesperson for Kohl’s didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
The company has been in the crosshairs of activist investors and short sellers for months. In December, Engineer Capital said in a letter to Kohl’s board of directors “the public market is not appreciating Kohl’s in its current form,” and “there is no excuse for the Board to cling to the status quo.”
Macellum said it planned to nominate a slate of new board members unless Kohl’s decides to work with the firm. If Kohl’s board won’t make changes, the company should explore a sale, the activists said.
In a statement Tuesday, the retailer said Macellum had been “unwilling to constructively engage” with Kohl’s and said the fund’s letter and announcement were “distracting.”
The knives have been out for the Kohl’s for months as one activist investor after another has written to the board or publicly advocated for a change in leadership, company strategy or both.
Nathaniel Meyersohn conributed to this story.
Read More:Kohl’s, a target of activist investors, gets a buyout offer.
2022-01-22 23:12:00