Belk to be acquired

Charlotte-based Belk has agreed to be purchased for $3 billion by New York-based private equity firm Sycamore Partners, ending local ownership of another family-owned retailer.

The company has more than $3.5 billion in capital under management. The company had indicated earlier in the year it was considering a sale, and rumors swirled in July that Sycamore Partners was preparing to make an offer to purchase the 127-year-old department store chain.

Under terms of the deal, Belk stockholders will receive $68 per share for each share of common stock they own.

“We plan to grow Belk by executing our current strategic initiatives and undertaking new growth initiatives together with Sycamore”, said Belk CEO Tim Belk, who will remain in that position.

Belk has nearly 300 locations in 16 Southern states, including stores at Alliance Town Center in north Fort Worth and the Dallas Galleria. It’s expected to close in the fourth quarter of calendar 2015. Belk is exactly the kind of investment we look for: “an outstanding brand with a proven success formula and the potential for further growth”. The company said its headquarters will remain in Charlotte. “This transaction is an across-the-board win for our stakeholders”, Belk said in his statement.

Certain stockholders of Belk, representing a majority of the voting power of the company’s shares, have agreed to vote their shares in favor of the transaction.

Goldman Sachs & Co is Belk’s financial adviser, Bank of America Merrill Lynch is Sycamore’s financial adviser.