Macy’s adds 2 new directors to board, ending fight with activist investors

Macy’s ended a nearly two-months long proxy contest with Arkhouse Management by adding two of the activist investor’s nominees to its board, the department store chain said Wednesday.

The retailer also said it continues to engage with Arkhouse and Brigade Capital Management over their revised buyout proposal.

In March, Arkhouse and Brigade raised their offer to acquire Macy’s stock they do not already own for $24 per share, valuing the retailer at $6.6 billion, after the company rejected an earlier bid made in December.

Arkhouse, which has a 4.4% stake in Macy’s, then nominated nine director candidates to the company’s board in February, triggering a proxy battle.

Arkhouse said on Wednesday it withdrew the rest of its board nominees after the company appointed Richard Clark and Richard Markee as independent directors.

“So it ends the potential for a proxy fight, which would have been very expensive and a big distraction and probably Arkhouse didn’t even really want it because they’re trying to buy the whole company,” Morningstar analyst David Swartz.