Arkhouse, Brigade Capital raise Macy’s bid to $6.9 billion, WSJ reports By Reuters

(Reuters) – Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management have raised their offer to buy Macy’s (NYSE:) to about $6.9 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Shares of the department store chain rose 1.1% in after-hours trading.

The new proposal would acquire the Macy’s shares that Arkhouse and Brigade Capital do not already own for $24.80 each, up from $24 per share offered in March, the report added. Arkhouse, which owns a 4.4% stake in Macy’s, had previously raised the offer price to $24 per share from $21.

Arkhouse Management, Brigade Capital and Macy’s did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

The current offer of $24.80 represents a premium of nearly 43% to Macy’s closing price on Dec. 8, when the talk began to emerge.

Macy’s ended a nearly two-month proxy fight with Arkhouse Management in April by adding two of the activist investor’s nominees, Richard Clark and Richard Markee, to its board.

The retailer said at the time it was in discussions with Arkhouse and Brigade Capital over their revised takeover proposal.

Clark and Markee join the board’s finance committee, which, in addition to its current responsibilities, would oversee the evaluation of Arkhouse and Brigade’s proposal.