Federated Department Stores Inc.’s troubled Fingerhut subsidiary may have found a buyer. The Business Development Group Acquisitions Inc. has signed a non-binding letter of intent with the department store holding company to purchase the cataloger.
The BDGA in Wayzata, MN, is headed by turnaround specialist Peter Lytle.
A spokesperson at BDGA’s Wayzata, MN, office said the group had "no comment."
In a statement, Federated described the letter as "a preliminary step" to BDGA’s purchase of Fingerhut.
"Although there are no guarantees of a successful outcome, we are hopeful that we will be able to conclude a transaction with BDGA," Ronald W. Tysoe, Federated’s vice chairman, said in a statement.
Tysoe also said that there were no other active discussions with other bidders, but that the sales process "remains open."
The Minneapolis Star Tribune quoted Minnesota state Rep. Dave Kleis as saying that Federated had received a second offer for Fingerhut early this morning.
"We’ve always been hopeful, but we’ve also been realistic," said Ben Saukko, Fingerhut spokesperson, when asked how the catalog’s employees were reacting to the news. "Nothing is written in stone, of course. We’ll just have to wait and see."
In other news, Cincinnati-based Federated announced that Jeffrey Sherman, Federated Direct’s chairman and CEO, has resigned effective March 1 to accept a position with Limited Stores. Sherman had served as chairman and CEO since March 2000. His duties will be assumed by Tysoe.
