Nordstrom said on Thursday that its board had formed a special committee of independent directors in response to the Nordstrom family’s interest in exploring a go-private deal.
Reuters first reported in March, citing sources, that the founding family was looking to take the company private, six years after a similar attempt turned out to be unsuccessful.
In 2017, the company announced that the members of the family, including CEO Erik Nordstrom, had formed a group to explore the possibilities of going private, including the acquisition of all outstanding shares of the company.
But the department store operator in 2018 rejected that bid worth $8.4 billion, saying it was low. It later ended discussions with the family, which had also found it difficult to arrange for debt financing after failing to agree on an acceptable price.
The founding family currently owns about 30% of the company’s outstanding shares, as of March 2024.
Nordstrom’s shares were up about 2% in after hours trading.