Shoppers pass a Hudson's Bay store at Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto on Aug. 19, 2019.Christopher Katsarov/The Globe and Mail
Hudson’s Bay Co shareholder Paradise Developments on Wednesday became the latest investor to oppose Chairman Richard Baker’s $1.74-billion take-private offer for the department store operator, calling it inadequate.
The investor, which holds 1.2 million shares, or 0.6-per-cent stake, urged the board to negotiate for a better price or recommend that the “insider offer” be rejected.
The board should have J.P. Morgan Securities and Centerview Partners do a fair value of the retailer’s real estate, said Paradise Developments, which has been a shareholder since August 2019.
Activist shareholder Jonathan Litt in June lambasted the bid as “woefully inadequate” and said the company was worth double the group’s offer of $9.45 per share.
A special panel of Hudson’s Bay reviewing the offer proposed by Chairman Richard Baker and a group of shareholders has said it was inadequate based on an initial analysis.
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