(NEW YORK) Canadian retail giant Hudson’s Bay Company is confirmed to be buying luxury retailer, Saks Fifth Avenue for $2.9 billion, including the department store’s debt. The sale will cost Hudson’s Bay $2.4 billion in cash, plus Saks’ debts. The news of the impending sale had Wall Street buzzing this morning: 40 million Saks Fifth Avenue shares were said to be traded in an hour and a half, causing the department store’s shares to jump 3.7 percent. Another department store in the Hudson’s Bay portfolio? Lord & Taylor.
So what’s in store for Saks? Currently, the retailer has 41 stores and 67 Off Fifth outlets in the U.S. According to CEO Richard Baker, HBC plans to bring the retailer to Canada and open up to seven Saks Fifth Avenue stores and 25 Off Fifth outlets north of the border. How this will affect luxury Canadian retailer Holt Renfrew, which is often compared to Saks and Barneys, remains to be seen.
