Report: Nine West Owner Jones Group Hires Citi to Explore Sale

Shares of Nine West parent Jones Group (NYSE:JNY) spiked 10% Monday afternoon on a report that the fashion company has tapped Citigroup (NYSE:C) to explore a possible sale.

The report comes just months after activist hedge fund Barington Capital scored a seat on the Jones Group board of directors amid a push to persuade the company to trim its more than 35 brands.

According to Reuters, Jones Group is in the early stages of sending out feelers to private equity and industry players about purchasing the entire company or pieces of it.

It’s not clear which specific parties were contacted by Citi nor how much a possible takeover would be worth. The Jones Group had a market capitalization of about $1.17 billion entering Monday’s trading, but that climbed north of $1.26 billion following the Reuters report.

The Jones Group didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Based in New York, the fashion company’s portfolio of brands includes Nine West, Anne Klein, Easy Spirit, Jones New York, Rachel Roy and Enzo Angiolini.

Jones Group employs more than 6,200 people and generated $3.80 billion in revenue in 2012, but posted a loss of $56.1 million.

News about the company hiring Citi sent Jones Group’s stock soaring as much as 16% to a 52-week high of $17.00 Monday afternoon. In more recent trading, Jones Group was up 9.77% to $16.07, giving it a 46% advance on the year.