躲避零售业崩盘策略：Hudson’s Bay将退市

为了安抚股东，萨克斯第五大道精品百货店的母公司、加拿大企业Hudson’s Bay Co.从削减成本到剥离资产，将所有方法都试了个遍，但没有任何办法能阻止该公司股价急剧下挫。因此，董事长理查德·贝克尔打算拿出约13.1亿美元的现金让这家公司退市。

贝克尔同Rhone Capital LLC、WeWork Property Advisors等投资者向持有Hudson’s Bay剩余股份的股东提出每股7.12美元的报价。这些投资者发表声明称，他们目前持有这家公司57%左右的股份，而上述报价比这家零售企业上周五的收盘价高48%。

如果成功，本次收购将成为Hudson’s Bay的首席执行官海伦娜·福克斯为扭亏而提出的全方位解决方案的下一步。该公司已经剥离了限时抢购网站Gilt，通过裁员降低了成本，向Rhone Capital转让了少量股权，同时将曼哈顿的标志性Lord & Taylor旗舰店作价8.5亿美元出售给了WeWork。但这些举措一直毫无作用——从2012年到上周五收盘，这只股票的价值已经蒸发了几乎三分之二。

本周一下午开盘不久，贝克尔发出收购要约的消息就推动Hudson’s Bay上涨44%，达到6.93美元。

彭博行业研究的分析师普拉姆·戈亚尔指出，这家公司正在重新聚焦于北美，退市后它将在尝试新思路方面具有更大的灵活性。

戈亚尔说：“零售行业正在发生巨变，也许他们需要的就是灵活性。”

多伦多零售业咨询机构Retail Advisors Network的联合创始人及合伙人布鲁斯·温德认为，Hudson’s Bay要做的工作包括剥离Lord & Taylor时装连锁店以及全面调整不断滑坡的加拿大门店网络。温德在加拿大商业电视台BNN Bloomberg上表示，该公司还应该向萨克斯第五大道精品百货店投入大量资金，因为那是“最有机会的地方”。

温德说：“这样的大手术真的需要先退市再做，因为市场会变得疯狂，而你的股价会下跌。看看去年的诺德斯特龙，他们也想方设法要退市。我们都知道百货业面临着相当大的困难，而且处于滑坡状态。”

撤出德国

Hudson’s Bay在另一则相关声明中表示，正在剥离规模11.3亿美元的欧洲业务。这家总部设在多伦多的公司称，已经与合作伙伴Signa Holding GmBH达成协议，后者将接管双方建立的德国房地产和零售合资公司，涉及的业务包括德国最大百货店集团Galeria Kaufhof和零售连锁店Karstadt。所得资金的一部分将用于偿还定期贷款，从而改善Hudson’s Bay的资产负债情况。

本次退市与Hudson’s Bay和Signa Holding的协议无关，后者预计将在今年秋天执行完毕。上述收购要约可以让贝克尔及其合作伙伴在不受股市关注的情况下继续设法让Hudson’s Bay扭亏为盈。

贝克尔在本周一发表的声明中表示：“我们相信改善Hudson’s Bay的业绩需要很长时间以及有耐心的长期资本，而这些更适合非上市公司，因为它不会把短期业绩和回报作为重点。”

特别委员会

Hudson’s Bay称尚未就贝克尔的要约做出决定，而且已经成立了特别委员会，以便在外部顾问的协助下探讨此项建议。

这已经不是该公司股东第一次想要出手了。去年，维权投资人Land & Buildings Investment Management就敦促Hudson’s Bay寻找提升股东价值的方法，其中就包括呼吁该公司内部人士考虑退市。这只由乔纳森·利特掌管的纽约对冲基金还要求Hudson’s Bay出售欧洲分公司及其他房地产。

据熟悉情况的人士透露，Land & Buildings Investment Management仍然持有数量可观的Hudson’s Bay股份。虽然这只对冲基金还在评估要约收购条款，但其初步感觉是贝克尔的报价低估了Hudson’s Bay的价值。

代表Land & Buildings Investment Management的人士拒绝发表评论。

获得批准

另一些了解情况但要求提到私密信息时不透露其姓名的人士指出，此项交易还需要征得逾半数外部股东，或者说大部分少数股东的同意。

这些人士透露，股市一直未能认可18个月来 Hudson’s Bay为提升股东价值而采取的措施，投资者因此感到受挫，进而引发了上述要约收购。而此前的这些措施包括转让Gilt、关闭家装连锁店Home Outfitters以及出售其他房地产。

他们说，退市后，投资者就能在股市的目光以外继续采取必要措施来改善Hudson’s Bay的经营情况。

以诺德斯特龙为首，近几年想退市的其他零售商均以失败告终。但这些消息人士称，上述这些投资者相信Hudson’s Bay实现退市的可能性较高，原因是收购方致力于此事，而且报价包含的溢价对少数股东来说应该有吸引力。

这些消息人士还指出，最终能否成功取决于现金和流动性水平，而在完成上述欧洲交易后，Hudson’s Bay就会得到现金和流动性。同时，这些投资者不打算显著调整该公司目前的计划。

经营方面的变化可能较多。转让给Signa Holdings的德国分公司不包括荷兰的业务，后者将回到Hudson’s Bay旗下。Hudson’s Bay表示，荷兰业务的表现一直未达到预期，而它正在考虑荷兰业务的处置方案。另外，该公司还预计将通过关闭门店等措施来降低成本。（财富中文网）

译者：Charlie

审校：夏林

Canada’s Hudson’s Bay Co., owner of Saks Fifth Avenue, has tried everything to appease shareholders, from cutting costs to selling off assets. None of it has halted the stock’s steady decline, so chairman Richard Baker is stepping in with a cash bid valued at about $1.31 billion to take the company private.

Baker is teaming up with investors, including Rhone Capital LLC and WeWork Property Advisors, to offer $7.12 a share for the remaining stock of Hudson’s Bay. The group owns about 57% of the company’s outstanding common shares, and the offer represents a 48% premium to the retailer’s closing share price on last Friday, the investors said in a statement.

The offer, if successful, would be a next step in CEO Helena Foulkes’s everything-is-on-the-table approach to turning Hudson’s Bay around. The company has already divested flash-sale website Gilt, slashed costs by cutting jobs, unloaded a minority stake to Rhone Capital, and sold its iconic Lord & Taylor flagship building in Manhattan to WeWork for $850 million. But it’s been to no avail—through last week’s close, the stock since 2012 had lost almost two thirds of its value.

On Monday, news of the offer drove the shares up 44% to $6.93 by early afternoon.

Going private will give Hudson’s Bay more flexibility to try new ideas as the company refocuses on North America, said Poonam Goyal, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.

“The retail sector is undergoing massive transformations, and maybe they just need the flexibility,” Goyal said.

The company’s work to do includes jettisoning the Lord & Taylor fashion clothing chain and overhauling its declining network of Hudson’s Bay stores in Canada, according to Bruce Winder, co-founder & partner at the Retail Advisors Network in Toronto. It should also invest heavily in its Saks Fifth Avenue chain, since that’s “where the action is,” Winder told BNN Bloomberg Television.

“To do this kind of drastic surgery, you really need to do it in private because markets will go crazy, your stock price will fall,’’ Winder said. “Look at Nordstrom last year, they tried to make a play to go private as well. We all know the department store sector is suffering considerably and it’s in decline.’’

Leaving Germany

In a related announcement, Hudson’s Bay said it is cashing out of its European operations—to the tune of $1.13 billion. The Toronto-based company said it reached an agreement for partner Signa Holding GmBH to take over the companies’ German real estate and retail joint venture, which includes Galeria Kaufhof, the country’s largest department store group, and the retail chain Karstadt. Part of the proceeds will be used to strengthen the company’s balance sheet by paying down a term loan.

HBC’s bid to go private is dependent on the deal with Signa, which is expected to close this fall. The shareholder deal would allow Baker and his partners to continue the company’s turnaround efforts outside the glare of public markets.

“We believe that improving HBC’s performance will require significant time and patient long-term capital that is better suited in a private-company context without the emphasis on short-term results and returns,” Baker said in a statement Monday.

Special committee

Hudson’s Bay said no decision has been made on Baker’s bid, and the retailer has formed a special committee to review the proposal with the assistance of outside advisers.

This isn’t the first time shareholders have tried to get involved. Activist investor Land & Buildings Investment Management last year pushed the company to explore ways to improve value for shareholders, such as calling for Hudson’s Bay’s insiders to explore taking the company private. The New York hedge fund, run by Jonathan Litt, also called for the company to sell its European division and other real estate.

Land & Buildings still owns a sizable position in Hudson’s Bay, according to people familiar with the matter. While the hedge fund is evaluating the terms of the transaction, initial impressions are the proposed price undervalues the company, the people said.

A representative for Land & Buildings declined to comment.

Getting approval

The transaction would be subject to approval of the majority of remaining shareholders outside the group—or a majority of the minority holders, according to other people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private information.

The deal’s timing was sparked by investor frustration over how public markets have failed to recognize steps Hudson’s Bay has taken over the past 18 months to improve shareholder value, the people said. These moves include the sale of Gilt, shutting down the Home Outfitters home decor chain, and the sale of other real estate assets.

By taking the company private, investors will be able to continue necessary steps to improve its operations outside of the gaze of the public market, they said.

Other retailers—most notably Nordstrom Inc.—have failed in their bids to go private in recent years. But the investor group believes the Hudson’s Bay transaction has a better chance of being completed because the equity group is committed to the deal and the premium being paid should appeal to minority holders, the people said.

Its ultimate success is contingent on the level of cash and liquidity, which will come with the closing of the parallel European deal, the people noted, adding the investor group doesn’t plan to drastically change the trajectory of the company’s current plans.

In terms of operations, more changes are likely. The sale of the German business to Signa doesn’t include operations in the Netherlands, which will revert to Hudson’s Bay ownership. Hudson’s Bay said it’s reviewing options for the Netherlands business, “which has not performed to expectations.” In the meantime, the company expects to cut costs by measures that include closing stores.