Sears offers to buy out Restoration Hardware

CHICAGO (AP) — Sears Holdings Corp. said Monday it was prepared to buy out the rest of retro-themed retailer Restoration Hardware Inc. for a nickle-per-share premium over a competing offer, a move that could help the iconic chain spruce up its merchandise lines.

Sears, which already owns 13.7 percent of the home-goods company, said it has repeatedly asked for access to Restoration Hardware’s confidential financial information and would make a binding offer if those details are provided. But so far the Corte Madera, Calif.-based company has rebuffed those requests.

Sears’ tentative offer of $6.75 per share, made public Monday in a regulatory filing, is less than 1 percent above a dueling bid from private equity firm Catterton Partners.

It’s also less than the current trading price of Restoration Hardware’s stock, which has more than doubled in value since the beginning of the month.

Earlier this month, Catterton offered Restoration Hardware $6.70 per share, a deal the two companies said had a total equity value of $267 million. But based on the 38.8 million Restoration Hardware shares outstanding at the end of the quarter, that offer is worth about $260 million and Sears’ bid is worth about $262 million.