Nordstrom Founding Family Takes Retailer Private in $6 Billion Deal

The Nordstrom family now owns the department store chain bearing their name.

Erik, Pete and Jamie Nordstrom and other members of their family, along with Mexican retailer Puerto de Liverpool, announced a deal Monday (Dec. 26) to acquire all of Nordstrom’s outstanding common stock.

The buyers pegged the value of the all-cash transaction valued at approximately $6.25 billion, giving the Nordstrom Family a majority ownership stake in the now-private company. The transaction was approved unanimously by the Nordstrom board, with Erik and Pete Nordstrom — both executives with the company — recusing themselves.

“For over a century, Nordstrom has operated with a foundational principle of helping customers feel good and look their best,” Erik Nordstrom, the company’s CEO, said in a news release. “Today marks an exciting new chapter for the business. On behalf of my family, we look forward to working with our teams to ensure Nordstrom thrives long into the future.”

Graciano F. Guichard G., chair of Liverpool’s board, added that the retailer was thrilled to be “investing in a company that has meaningfully shaped the industry for nearly 125 years.”

Nordstrom put together a special committee in 2017 to consider a buyout deal and discussed the plan with several private equity firms. However, the committee rejected a bid as insufficient the following year.

Then, in March of this year, reports emerged that the Nordstrom founding family had again expressed its interest in going private. Erik and Pete Nordstrom told the Nordstrom board in April that they were interested in taking the company private. Sycamore Partners, a buyout equity firm that owns department store operator Belk, had also expressed interested in taking Nordstrom private.

In September, Nordstrom received a proposal from the family and Liverpool about a go-private deal.

Erik Nordstrom reported last month that both the company’s digital sales and enhancements to the overall customer experience had shown improvements during its most recent quarter.

“In the third quarter, our efforts to enhance the customer experience continued to resonate, enabling growth in net and comparable sales, margin expansion, and an increase in our customer base,” Nordstrom said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call.

“Both Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack delivered 4% comparable sales growth. We’re particularly encouraged that our online business sustained its momentum, with digital sales growth of over 6%,” he added. “Customers responded to newness in our selection of the brands that matter most to them, driving positive total company net sales growth for the fourth consecutive quarter.”

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