Headlines

Kohl’s Rejects Acquisition Offers, Takes “Poison Pill”

Retailer says buyout bids undervalued it

Published

2 years ago

February 8, 2022

VMSD Staff

Kohl’s Rejects Acquisition Offers, Takes “Poison Pill” — Photography: JILLIAN CANE/ iSTOCK

Photography: JILLIAN CANE/ iSTOCK

Kohl’s (Menomonee Falls, WI) adopted a shareholder rights plan known as a “poison pill” to thwart a hostile takeover, Reuters reports.

The move came after Kohl’s turned down multiple bids from unnamed suitors to buy the department store chain. Kohl’s described those offers as having “undervalued” the business, the article says. The poison pill makes it more difficult for activist shareholders to take over the company.

Activist shareholders, generally speaking, have been unsatisfied with the retailer’s performance and have pressured it to explore a sale. In late January, one such activist group, Acacia Research Corp., offered to buy the company for about $9 billion. Kohl’s has since hired Goldman Sachs to discuss a sale with interested parties, according to the article.

Read more at Reuters.

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