Macy’s Settles Proxy Fight With Suitor

Macy’s (New York) said it has settled its proxy fight with real estate investor Arkhouse, and that it would add two new directors nominated by that firm to its 15-person board. The moves place Macy’s closer to a deal that could take the 165-year-old department store private, CNBC reports.

Macy’s also said it had provided the Arkhouse-led investor group with confidential business information as the two sides negotiated the terms of a possible sale. Both new directors will be part of the committee reviewing Arkhouse’s bid to buy the company.

Arkhouse first submitted an offer to take the retailer private last year. The investor, which is working in concert with Brigade Management, has since increased its offer multiple times. The investment-firm-turned-activist then launched a proxy fight at the company in February, putting up a nine-director slate.

The settlement brings Ric Clark, co-founder of Waterman Clark and a former executive at Brookfield, and Rick Markee, a onetime executive at the Vitamin Shoppe and Toy’s ‘R’ Us, among others, to the Macy’s board.

Clark and Markee’s appointments “will ensure that our discussions continue to be constructive and that our proposal is treated seriously and expeditiously,” Arkhouse managing partners Jonathon Blackwell and Gavriel Kahane said in a statement.

Macy’s has struggled in recent years as consumers have rapidly swung to online shopping and away from department stores. Macy’s said in February that it would close about 150 of its roughly 500 stores, just weeks after CEO Tony Spring stepped into the top job.