- Activist investor Jana Partners has taken a stake in Macy's and sent a letter to the department store chain's board Wednesday, urging it to separate its e-commerce business, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC.
- Jana has said it expects a standalone digital business would be worth a multiple of Macy's current market value, which is about $7 billion.
- Such a separation would mimic a similar one from the high-end department store operator Saks Fifth Avenue.
Activist investor Jana Partners has taken a stake in Macy's and sent a letter to the department store chain's board on Wednesday urging it to separate its e-commerce business, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC.
The person said Macy's online business has already drawn interest from firms that would invest in it, in conjunction with a spinoff.
Macy's shares closed Thursday up nearly 3%, having risen more than 105% year to date.
A representative from Macy's declined to comment. Jana didn't immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.
In a presentation earlier this month, Jana said Macy's online business could be worth about $14 billion, which is higher than $7 billion market value the department store currently has. Jana suggested the split at that time without saying anything about its stake in the department store operator.
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Macy's had told investors in August that it expected its e-commerce sales this year to be between $8.35 billion and $8.45 billion, after nearly doubling in the past four years.
Money Report
Such a separation would mimic a similar one from the high-end department store operator Saks Fifth Avenue, which earlier this year spilt off its digital business into a separate company. The deal valued Saks.com at $2 billion, or about double its annual sales.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Jana's stake in Macy's earlier in the day.