Restoration Hardware Inc. has accepted a takeover offer from Catterton Partners for $179 million, significantly less than the $279 million the private equity firm offered before Restoration Hardware’s holiday sales results were posted.
Restoration Hardware reported that net revenue for the nine-week period ended January 5 totaled $171.5 million, a 1% drop compared to the previous year. During the 2006 holiday season, the company posted a 22% sales increase.
Restoration Hardware said late Thursday that it had entered into an amendment to its previously announced merger agreement with Catterton to sell all of the multichannel retailer’s outstanding shares for $4.50 in cash. Additionally, Catterton is providing Restoration Hardware with a $25 million loan for working capital. The amendment also extends the termination date for the merger agreement from April 30 to June 30.
“The amended merger agreement today comes as the company and the home-related retail sector face increased pressure,“ said Restoration Hardware in a statement.
Restoration Hardware will continue to solicit proposals from third parties until February 28.
In November, Sears Holdings Corp. made an offer to acquire Restoration Hardware for $6.75 per share in cash. However, the two companies had difficulty coming to terms over a confidentiality agreement that would have prevented Sears from making a tender offer outside of the process. Soon after, Sears started facing financial troubles of its own, with third quarter net income plummeting to $2 million from $196 million in the previous year and total domestic comparable store sales declining 4.6%. For the nine-week period ended January 5, total domestic comparable store sales declined 3.5%. Sears could not be reached for comment.
