Founder Schulze submits propsal to acquire Best Buy

Best Buy founder and ousted chairman Richard Schulze has, as expected, submitted a proposal to acquire the brick-and-mortar retailer.

Under the terms of the deal, Schulze, who owns about 20 percent of Best Buy already, would pay between $24 and $26 per share in cash to the company to acquire the outstanding shares he doesn't own. If Best Buy were to accept the offer, the company would score a premium of between 36 percent and 47 percent on its Friday closing price of $17.64.

If Schuzle gets his way, he'll take Best Buy from the stock market and turn it private.

"There is no question that now is the moment of truth for Best Buy and that immediate and substantial changes are needed for the company to return to its market-leading ways," Schulze said today in a statement. "After assessing all of my options, it is my strong belief that Best Buy's best chance for renewed success is to implement with urgency the necessary changes as a private company."

In order to finance the deal, Schulze has enlisted the help of private equity firms. He will also reinvest approximately $1 billion of his own equity and take on some debt. However, Schulze is making the proposal before actually inking any deals from the private equity firms or securing debt financing from banks.

"While he has not reached any agreements with any of the private equity firms or former executives, Schulze is confident, based on discussions held to date, that he can do so in shor... [Read more]