Sears Discloses 13.7% Stake in Restoration Hardware, Mulls Acquisition

Shares of Restoration Hardware jumped 18.5% in after-hours trading Monday after Sears Holdings Corporation disclosed it had purchased a 13.7% stake in the specialty home retailer, while adding it was considering "proposing an acquisition." In a 13D filing Sears reported paying $30.2 million in cash for 5.3 million RSTO shares, at an average price of $5.698 (shares closed Monday at $6.33 and jumped to $7.50 after hours). Sears said it is mulling making another offer for Restoration. Sears' previous offer of $4.00 a share in late October was rejected. Then, on November 8, Restoration accepted a buyout offer of $6.70 a share from a collection of private equity led by an affiliate of Catterton Partners. With the deal, Restoration was given a 35-day period to accept a higher offer, giving Sears until December 13 to top the current offer.

Sources: 13D Filing, Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, AP, Reuters
Commentary: Sears Holdings Has Us On The Edge Of Our Seat • Lampert's Focus Is On Store Redesign, Not Asset Sales • Cramer on SHLD
Stocks/ETFs to watch: SHLD, RSTO. Competitors: HD, TGT, LOW, WMT
ETFs: PMR

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