Hudson’s Bay Company is selling Lord & Taylor to clothing rental subscription service Le Tote for $100 million, CNBC.com reported. The deal allows the department store chain to continue and potentially transform operations as its sales have fallen and it’s lost touch with today’s shoppers. It will also allow Hudson’s Bay, owner of Saks Fifth Avenue and Hudson’s Bay in Canada, to further simplify its business, as Executive Chairman Richard Baker looks to take the company private while the retailer grapples with sweeping industry change. Hudson’s Bay will be paid $99.5 million Canadian dollars ($75 million) in cash after the deal closes and a secured promissory note of CA$33.2 million ($25 million) is payable in cash after two years. Hudson’s Bay will also receive an equity stake in Le Tote, two seats on its board and certain rights as a minority shareholder. Under the deal, Le Tote will acquire Lord & Taylor’s brand and intellectual property and assume operations of 38 stores, its digital channels and its inventory. In fiscal 2018, Lord & Taylor generated $1.4 billion, or roughly 14 percent of Hudson’s Bay’s $9.4 billion in retail sales. Hudson’s Bay has a market value of CA$1.8 billion ($1.35 billion).
