Discussions had been ongoing since September 2023 with both parties spending hundreds of hours on diligence.
Initial offer was for $5.8 billion.
Macy's terminated acquisition discussions with Arkhouse and Brigade due to insufficient financing commitment.
Macy's, Inc. (NYSE: M) recently announced the termination of discussions with Arkhouse Management Co. LP and Brigade Capital Management, LP regarding potential acquisitions of the company. The decision was made by Macy's Board of Directors following months of engagement with both parties during which they spent hundreds of hours addressing diligence requests and providing documents beyond what is customary for public company acquisitions (Macy's, 2024a).
The termination came after Arkhouse and Brigade submitted insufficient financing commitment papers, subject to numerous conditions and appraisals (Macy's, 2024b; Yahoo Finance, 2024). The companies had been in talks since September 2023 when Arkhouse made an initial offer of $5.8 billion (Yahoo Finance, 2023).
Despite the termination of discussions, Macy's remains committed to enhancing shareholder value through its own turnaround strategy, known as
Macy’s board unanimously decided to end buyout talks with Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management
Discussions failed to lead to an actionable proposal with certainty of financing at a compelling value
Macy’s is embarking on their own turnaround plan after the revised offer lacked compelling value
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(95%)
The author makes several statements that are not fallacious, but there are a few instances of inflammatory rhetoric and an appeal to authority. The author states that 'Wall Street is not having a lot of faith in their ability to have that turnaround plan in their own hands moving forward.' This is an example of inflammatory rhetoric as it implies that the market's lack of confidence in Macy's ability to execute a turnaround plan is a negative thing. The author also quotes Yahoo Finance anchors Josh Lipton and Julie Hyman stating 'Macy’s saying in a statement that the proposal quote lacks certainty of financing here shares moving lower pre market right now.' This is an example of an appeal to authority as the author is implying that because Macy's made a statement, it must be true. However, this does not necessarily mean that there are no fallacies in the article as a whole and the score reflects this.
]Wall Street is not having a lot of faith in their ability to have that turnaround plan in their own hands moving forward.[
Macy’s saying in a statement that the proposal quote lacks certainty of financing here shares moving lower pre market right now.
Macy’s management ended talks with private investors Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management over takeover offers
Macy’s board of directors voted unanimously to end discussions with the investors
The investors planned to take Macy’s private and consider spinning off its real estate assets or separating online operations from brick-and-mortar stores
Accuracy
Macy’s rejected a previous offer to buy the company at $21 a share in January
In March, the investors upped their offer to $24 a share and Macy’s agreed to enter talks about the bid
Arkhouse intended to mount a proxy fight for control of Macy’s earlier this year
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains a few informal fallacies and an example of inflammatory rhetoric. It also uses a dichotomous depiction. No formal logical fallacies were found.
. . . it was unclear that the investors could finance a deal and it was not in shareholders' best interest.
Investor groups such as private equity funds and hedge funds have been active in recent decades in buying struggling or under-performing retailers, with the stated goal of taking them private, improving their operations and selling them for a profit. But the results have often led to closures, not salvation, for companies such as Sears and Toys 'R' Us.
Macy’s decision to end talks with the investors will benefit the chain.
Macy’s board had gone ‘well beyond what is customarily required’ in due diligence period, offering bidder group store-by-store profit and loss information and leases for each location
Arkhouse intended to mount a proxy fight for control of Macy’s earlier this year
Accuracy
Macy’s board has unanimously decided to end negotiations with Arkhouse and Brigade for taking the retailer private for roughly $6.9 billion
Discussions failed to lead to an actionable proposal with certainty of financing at a compelling value
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(75%)
The article contains a few inflammatory rhetorical statements, such as describing the activist group's proposal as 'lacking certainty of financing and does not deliver compelling value.' Additionally, there is an appeal to authority by mentioning that Arkhouse and Brigade had been allowed to share confidential information with more than a dozen 'credible financing sources.' No formal fallacies were found.
The activist group's proposal lacks certainty of financing and does not deliver compelling value.
Macy’s, Inc. terminated discussions with Arkhouse Management Co. LP and Brigade Capital Management, LP
Company spent hundreds of hours addressing diligence requests and providing documents beyond what is customary for public company acquisitions
Arkhouse and Brigade submitted insufficient financing commitment papers, subject to numerous conditions and appraisals
Accuracy
Macy’s spent hundreds of hours addressing diligence requests and providing documents beyond what is customary for public company acquisitions
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(95%)
The article contains an appeal to authority fallacy when the company states that 'Bank of America Securities and Wells Fargo Securities are acting as financial advisors' and 'Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is acting as legal advisor to the Company'. This statement implies that because these firms are acting as advisors, their expertise lends credibility to the company's decision. However, this does not necessarily mean that their advice is correct or unbiased.
][The company] states that 'Bank of America Securities and Wells Fargo Securities are acting as financial advisors' and 'Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is acting as legal advisor to the Company'.[[/] [
