Ares Management is teaming up with the members of the Schiffer/Gold family, who are the biggest shareholders in the company, to offer $22 a share for the retailer, compared with Leonard Green’s $19.09 bid. The latest offer represents a 32 percent premium to the stock’s trading levels prior to Leonard Green’s offer, which was made in March.
In March, the Schiffer/Gold family said it was joining hands with Leonard Green to offer $1.34 billion to take the discount chain private, an offer some analysts said was too low. There have been media reports of possible interest by private equity firm
Eric Schiffer will continue as its chief executive and Jeff Gold as its president and operation head after the deal, the company said in a statement. The Schiffer/Gold family will continue to hold a significant minority stake in the company.
(Meenakshi Iyer is a trainee correspondent for Reuters in Bangalore; additional reporting by Mihir Dalal.)