Analyst: ‘Nothing Should Really Change’ If Nordstrom Goes Private

Nordstrom’s quest to become a private company took a step forward this week.

The Nordstrom family, led by Erik and Pete Nordstrom — great grandsons of company founder John Nordstrom — announced that they wanted to sell all outstanding shares of the company to Mexican retailer El Puerto de Liverpool for $23 apiece in cash, or $3.8 billion. The Nordstrom family would still own 50.1% of the company. Shareholders must still approve the deal, though Nordstrom said no action is required at this time.

Seattle magazine caught up with John Harmon, a research analyst with retail data analytics company Coresight Research, to put the proposal in perspective.

What would going private mean for shoppers? Would merchandise change?

Nothing should really change. However, it’s likely that Nordstrom would make some changes and cost cuts after going private.

Would decisions still be made in Seattle?

Most likely, since they would have a voting majority.

Will there be interest from other bidders?

A public offer like this could flush out other offers.

Nordstrom is opening Rack stores across the country and is increasingly competing in the value space with the likes of Ross and TJ Maxx. Is this the company’s future, and is this the reason for the interest from Liverpool?

These off-price businesses are growing faster than department stores in general, so it makes Nordstrom more attractive. I don’t think this alone makes Nordstrom an acquisition candidate — it is one of the higher-quality department stores.

Will full-line department stores like Nordstrom continue to struggle going forward?

Most likely. The department store category has been shrinking for several years as fickle consumers prefer to shop at a wider variety of stores and channels.

The proposal calls for $23 per share in cash, which is about what the stock is trading for now. Is that a fair price?

Nordstrom stock has appreciated from $17 when the company announced it was seeking to go private (about six months ago). The $23 price includes this gain.

What are the benefits of going private?

The company would save the costs of being public, like investor relations and exchange fees. Privately held companies also have more freedom to make changes, since they do not need to seek shareholder approval.

Any other thoughts or observations?

Nordstrom tried once before to go private (in 2017), which was not successful — the offer price was deemed inadequate. This offer still needs board and shareholder approval.