Nordstrom goes private in $6.25 billion deal with founding family

Nordstrom on Monday announced it will go private after it agreed to a buyout deal worth about $6.25 billion from Nordstrom’s founding family and Mexican department store El Puerto de Liverpool.

The company’s board unanimously approved the transaction, which is expected to be completed in the first half of 2025.

As part of the deal, the Nordstrom family will have a majority ownership of the company with 50.1% and Liverpool will own 49.9%. Common stockholders will receive $24.25 in cash for each share of Nordstrom common stock they hold, according to a news release.

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

This is not the first time the retailer has tried to go private. A previous effort expired in 2018. In September, the Nordstrom family offered $23 per stock for the chain, which valued the company at about $3.76 billion.

Nordstrom shares were down about 1% in early trading. Shares in the company have soared since a Reuters report in March that the family wanted to take the company private.

Nordstrom beat Wall Street’s November sales expectations for the third quarter as revenue rose about 4% year over year. But the company only gave a slightly rosier full-year sales forecast, saying it expected a soft holiday season.

Luxury clothing stores have been under pressure as retailers, e.g Walmart, Best buy and Goal have reported that customers remain discerning when it comes to purchasing items that are wants, not needs, and have been paying more attention to price.

Nordstrom was founded as a shoe store in 1901 before transitioning into a department store that sells a wide variety of clothing and accessories across more than 350 Nordstrom, Nordstrom Local and Nordstrom Rack locations.

El Puerto de Liverpool operates two other department store chains, Liverpool and Suburbia, and owns 29 shopping centers across Mexico.