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Kohl's jumps on report bidders may be willing to pay as much as $62/share

May 25, 2022 10:09 AM ETKohl's Corporation (KSS)ACTG, SPG, BN, FRG, BN:CABy: Joshua Fineman, SA News Editor43 Comments

Kohl"s Department Stores Receives Unsolicited Bid From Hedge Fund Starboard Value LP

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News

Kohl's Corp. (NYSE:KSS) soared 13% on a report that potential bidders are planning to make binding offers that are lower than their original bids for the department store chain. Some bidders indicated they may

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Comments (43)

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H
At 40.48...I would gladly take 62.00
joezapp profile picture
@Happyfingers That's exactly what the buyers are hoping for...weak hands in a general stock market downturn. The best offer should be over $64, which is the offer that was already rejected.
i
The Fed has printed trillions and the banks have to repo everyday to the Fed. All assets, junk or not, are priced in this artificial level. The Kohl's near me is basically an Amazon's return station instead of a clothing store, almost no one inside.
joezapp profile picture
The best offer will likely be over $64. That doesn't mean it gets done, though.
OverTheHorizon profile picture
$62? In your dreams. No deal here.
abracadabra75 profile picture
they will definitely lose a LOT of money on that one.
I_Am_The_Walrus profile picture
Step 1: Pump
Step 2: Dump
s
Has anyone, contributors or readers, kept a list of the bidder names and their bid(s), regardless of whether they stated firm financing?

There is much discussion about KSS worth. As far as I know there were no bid(s) from any interested party greater than $69. Yes everyone likes a bargain but these bidders are not stupid in that there is risk involved when buying an existing business with the expectation the business will continue to be a going-concern.
k
@sd55 Perhaps you could look at RRD bidding (sold to private investors months ago). It started at ~$7.50, went to over $11.50 or so and I don't remember what happened as I sold at $10.50 not knowing what was real or not. Alot like Kohl's.
s
@kruncher I read a contributor's article last week that stated he sold his KSS position at $65/share since no bidders' offer was greater than $68-$69. I believe his logic was that based on the offers presented KSS was not likely to be sold for a greater price as there was no fierce competitors willing to outbid each other, and he was comfortable with his gain to invest $$$ in others that fit his portfolio. I'm chomping at the bit to do the same despite my 4% dividend yield.
k
@sd55 You know, I've been evaluating my own strategies and I've determined I may have dropped the ball. The issue is fear of missing out, so one holds in anticipation of a better price. I internally always believed to hedge your bets. Meaning, perhaps sell half or some other % of your position to lock in a sure gain. I don't do this nearly enough and realized I made at least 4 technical errors in the recent 1.5 years that have resulted in considerable loss in profits (and even real losses) if I had only sold part of my positions (better in some cases if I sold all, but I have difficulty with that). However, if Kohl's got an $85 offer the regret is almost untenable for all but the most disciplined of us. That's the difference between a great investor and merely a rather poor one (it's the discipline and not having regrets).
Jamjack profile picture
Give the auctioneer a throat cough drop and let the bidding auction begin....LOL....We will see what happens.
ImpatientValueInvestor profile picture
Management should not sell unless it is significantly above this BS $62 figure. They make a billion every year, use that to buy back shares every year they will be way above $62 in no time.
Jamjack profile picture
62 acceptance would disappoint me, but still yields gain.
ImpatientValueInvestor profile picture
@Jamjack I will begrudgingly put a lot of money in my pocket.
U
@ImpatientValueInvestor What year are you talking about? Kohls after tax Net Income for past 4 fiscal years has been:
2021: 938,000 million
2020: -163,000 million
2019: 691,000 million
2018: 801,000 million

At approximately $20 billion annually in sales, to have a bottom line annual profit of 4% or less is not top quartile performance in class.
Management would absolutely pull the trigger at $62/share; that would return a ton of value to the shareholders that current management will not attain through current strategies. Also benefits management as it would activate all the golden parachute CIC provisions in their employment agreements.
k
If the company was worth $69 before, not much should change as performance is fluid. It's like buying a house for $500,000 (thinking it's a great buy) from a builder just to find out that 3 months later he's selling the same model for $410,000 (this is a real scenario by the way) because the then current market demand has changed or interest rates is spiking, etc. The $500,000 buyer feels cheated (however, if builder had increased the price to $540,000 you'd feel great). In my own home, 6 months after paying $650,000 Zillow says estimated market value $480,000. Today the sales on my street are over $1.1 million. I really didn't care as I liked the house and know things go up and down. With Kohl's, other than finance cost issues, if worth $69 before, they are trying to take advantage of the current fear!
C
@kruncher

All true but the market has now made is cheaper because of the concerns about retailers.

The buyers will be getting a deal @ $ 60 unless the board screws it up again.
k
@Clark158f1 Perhaps, however the market was considered toast just 2 years ago when Kohl's went under $12 and most thought the ballgame's over. Things could change once again or then again not!
m
@kruncher I get the logic but the market has signaled multiple times that the current management’s plan is not good enough. Kss may have been worth 69 a couple months back but a lot has changed and the board owes the shareholders to do the right thing and sell
U
Dead cat bounce.
Income4ever aka Cyclenut profile picture
Not sure why Simon is interested in Kohls...
C
@Income4ever aka Cyclenut

Its an anchor tenant in many of their malls. If they can buy it cheap enough and make the improvements necessary to boost profits its a strategic investment for them.
elwalle profile picture
Musk strikes again !!!
C
I now expect a deal to get done at $ 60
K
Why would anyone pay so much....
William Cikos profile picture
@KimBEAV The PEG is below 1 right now. Bidders understand they'd have to pay a substantial premium for the Board to accept any offer.
s
Where do I sign up for this sale? Can I get a "next in line number" to be served!?
J
$85.00 or bust!
SivBum profile picture
Joins TWTR's shaky buyout offer from Musk.
Jamjack profile picture
I don't think the two are comparable. Twitter fake accounts doesn't compare as there are no such thing as fake shoppers spending money. How much real estate does Twitter own?

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