The Kohl's Corporation (NYSE: KSS) board of directors has received multiple preliminary offers to acquire the retailer and is evaluating its options, according to a press release issued on Monday.
"The Board acknowledged receipt of multiple preliminary indications of interest. The proposals received are non-binding and without committed financing," the company wrote. "The Board has authorized Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) to coordinate with select bidders who have submitted indications of interest to assist with further due diligence so that they have the opportunity to refine and improve their proposals and include committed financing and binding documentation."
The company further announced that its Finance Committee, made entirely of independent directors, would be leading the review of any expressions of interest.
Various reports on potential buyers have surfaced in the weeks since Kohl's issued weak guidance that amounted to "more of the same;" single-digit growth sales and earnings per share (EPS) growth, much to the dismay of investors. Kohl's stated at the time that it intended to gradually shift into "active and casual" clothing with smaller, more streamlined stores. Such a move would put it in fierce competition with existing firms in that market, such as Lululemon (NASDAQ: LULU).
The move to evaluate offers comes as the company is fending off pressure from activist investor Macellum Advisors, which has recently nominated ten candidates to the board. The company recently issued a press release urging investors to vote for the board's nominees, citing the inexperience of the activist nominees. Kohl's current board, on the other hand, has been criticized by Macellum for not doing enough to improve the company's performance.
Kohl's shares have remained flat for the latter half of last week and the first few days of this week. The company's stock was down by 0.78% after markets closed on Tuesday.