A Nordstrom sign is seen at a shopping mall in Brea, Calif. (Jae C. Hong/AP)
The founding family that controls high-end retailer Nordstrom reportedly has picked private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners to take it private, with a formal bid expected within the next few weeks.
- Key number: 31, which is the percentage of outstanding stock held by the controlling family. This also corresponds to the typical equity slug in large private equity deals, and that's before Leonard Green's $1 billion participation. In other words, post-transaction Nordstrom might not face quite the same leverage load that has encumbered PE-backed retail rivals like Neiman Marcus (in which Leonard Green was once an investor).