Description: HBC is no longer going to be a publicly-traded company. Chairman Richard Baker won a shareholders’ vote in his third bid to take the company private. In June 2019 Baker offered $9.45 a share, but this drew negative shareholder reaction. By this January the offer was sweetened to $11 per share, and 98% of the shareholders jumped on board.

Date:  February 28, 2020

Source:  msn.com

Link: https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/topstories/hbc-chair-richard-baker-wins-shareholder-approval-to-take-retailer-private/ar-BB10ttSy

Discussion points:

1) Do you or anyone in your family shop at HBC?

2) What are the advantages of taking a company private? What could be a downside?

3) In Wiley’s Financial Accounting : Tools for Business Decision-Making you can find HBC discussed in the opening vignette of Chapter 14. What strategy did HBC use to pay down $1 billion in debt?