Nordstrom's Stock Rockets As Company Explores 'going Private' Deal

Shares of Nordstrom Inc. rocketed 22% in premarket trade Thursday, after the high-end department store chain said it was exploring a "going private" deal. The company said member of the Nordstrom family, including Co-Presidents Blake Nordstrom, Peter Nordstrom and Erik Nordstrom; Chairman Emeritus Bruce Nordstrom; President of Stores James Nordstrom and Anne Gittinger, have formed a group to explore the possibility of acquiring 100% of the shares outstanding. Bruce Nordstrom owned 15% of the shares outstanding as of March 17, according to FactSet, and Gittinger owned 9.2% of the outstanding shares. The stock had tumbled 15.5% year to date through Wednesday, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF had lost 8.0% and the S&P 500 had gained 8.7%.