Could any higher ups provide us any gossip about the Arkhouse deal ? Are they close to buying out ?
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If the company goes private, all bets are off. Private companies are not required to report earnings or update investors. The new owners can change policies, pay rates, benefits, store hours, employee schedules, literally everything that affects your job, including if you lose it. Unless you have an employment contract (not very many Macy's employees have a contract), you are an "at will employee" and the new owners can do what they want.
Rest assured, what they are going to want is to go out from under the debt they incur to take the company private as quickly as possible. Possible actions to accomplish this could include closing the 150 stores ASAP, increasing and/or changing the closing store count based on which stores they can get the most $$$. Other options include spinning off Blue Mercury, Bloomingdale's, Macy's Dot.Com, and Macy's Credit.
Unfortunately, it looks like the company is worth significantly more if it is sold off n individual pieces than as an ongoing concern, especially given the trend of brick and mortar retailing and hurdles related to the economy.
I would expect a lot of changes in going private. Only the union stores would have any standing with employment issues. But I still don't think it's going to happen, especially in an election year. There's just not enough upside when you consider everything involved in taking a company the size of Macy's out. IMO
If the company goes private, will there still be severance packages for the closing stores? We just had a visit and the district team was talking about how everything will probably change if the buyout goes through. Anyone have any insights how the buyout would affect people in stores?
(Bloomberg) -- Guggenheim Partners is talking to lenders, including private credit firms, to gauge their interest in financing the potential $6.6 billion buyout of US department store chain Macy’s Inc. by investment firms Arkhouse Management Co. and Brigade Capital Management.
Guggenheim Partners wants to finance the buyout, per Bloomberg News.