Don’t Sell the Bay

Directors of Hudson’s Bay Co. (Toronto) unanimously recommended that shareholders and debenture holders reject the unsolicited takeover bid by Maple Leaf Heritage Investments Acquisition Corp. as “financially inadequate.”

“Hbc’s board has carefully considered the recommendation by its special committee and advisors, and unanimously recommends that security holders reject the offers,” said Yves Fortier, Hbc’s governor. “Hbc has a unique position in the Canadian retail industry, with a highly attractive and valuable portfolio of retail and real estate assets and a highly profitable credit card operation, and the company is aggressively pursuing a number of strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value.”

The directors pointed out, in a circular distributed to shareholders, that the offer of C$14.75 a share “does not reflect the underlying value of Hbc’s business. Hbc is Canada’s largest department store retailer and oldest corporation; [that it] reaches over 80 percent of the Canadian population; [and that its] portfolio of irreplaceable real estate assets is among the most attractive in Canada.”

Hbc is also the official supplier to the Canadian Olympic teams until the 2012 Olympic Games.

Maple Leaf Heritage Investments is already Hudson’s Bay’s largest shareholder, with an 18.8 percent stake. It is incorporated in Nova Scotia but wholly owned by American businessman Jerry Zucker, head of The Intertech Group Inc. (N. Charleston. S.C.).