Seattle-based Nordstrom has agreed to be acquired and taken private by members of the longtime retail family and El Puerto de Liverpool, a Mexican retailer, in an all-cash-deal valued at $6.25 billion, the company announced Monday.
Founded as a shoe store in 1901, Nordstrom department stores now sell a variety of clothing and other accessories at more than 350 Nordstrom, Nordstrom Local and Nordstrom Rack locations and via its websites and apps.
The company has tried for years to keep up with the changing retail landscape as shoppers turned to online competitors and e-commerce juggernauts such as Amazon.
Nordstrom in recent years has implemented an omnichannel approach, using real-time inventory status and integrations between in-person and online shopping to bridge physical and digital retail. Digital sales represented 36% of total sales in 2023, down from a peak of 55% in 2020, at the height of the pandemic.
Digital sales represented 34% of total sales in the third quarter, up 6.4% year-over-year.
Earlier this year, Nordstrom introduced a new digital marketplace aimed at providing customers with a greater selection of products, brands and sizes.
Under the transaction announced Tuesday, Nordstrom shareholders will receive $24.25 in cash for each share of Nordstrom common stock they hold, representing a premium of 42% to the company’s closing stock price on March 18 — the last trading day prior to media speculation regarding a potential transaction.
The Nordstrom family will have majority ownership in the company, with 50.1%, and Liverpool will own 49.9%.
The Nordstrom board of directors unanimously approved the proposed transaction. Board members Erik and Pete Nordstrom, who are among the family members taking over the company, recused themselves.
“For over a century, Nordstrom has operated with a foundational principle of helping customers feel good and look their best,” Nordstrom CEO Erik Nordstrom said in a statement. “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.”
In August, Nordstrom announced it was closing corporate offices in Los Angeles and Chicago and asking some employees to relocate to its Seattle headquarters.
A majority of the company’s corporate roles are based out of Seattle.
El Puerto de Liverpool operates two other department store chains, Liverpool and Suburbia, and owns 29 shopping centers across Mexico.
The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2025.
