Syms Surges Most Since 2009 After Reporting Possible Sale
(Corrects date in headline.)
Syms Corp. (SYMS), a New Jersey-based discount retailer, surged the most in almost two and a half years after saying it will explore strategic alternatives including a possible sale of the company.
Syms retained Rothschild Inc. as its exclusive financial adviser, the Secaucus, New Jersey-based retailer said today in a statement. There is no timeline for the review process, the company said.
Shareholder Capstone Equities Capital Management LP earlier this month sent a letter to Syms directors and Chief Executive Officer Marcy Syms asking the retailer to sell some of its real estate and buy back shares to “enhance shareholder value.”
“In light of the intense retail competition which exists today, it is now time for Syms to create a transparent sales process to find the highest bidder and maximize value for all shareholders,” said Andrew Sole, a managing member of Esopus Creek Capital, in Short Hills, New Jersey, which holds about 4 percent of Syms.
Syms surged $2.04, or 27 percent, to $9.49 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares have gained 31 percent this year.
Davia Temin, a spokeswoman for Syms, said the review process wasn’t in response to the letter, and declined to comment further.
Worth $200 Million
The retailer, which operates 47 stores under Filene’s Basement and its namesake brand in the U.S., reported a net loss of $32.9 million, or $2.27 a share, in the fiscal year ended February 26.
Capstone valued Syms’s real estate at more than $200 million, or about 50 percent more than the company’s worth as a money-losing retailer, according to the letter. Syms owned 18 of its 49 stores for a total of 1.69 million square feet as of Feb. 26, according to a public filing.
“Finally, shareholders are being considered here, which is a huge step in the right direction,” said Capstone partner Joshua Zamir, who declined to say how many shares the investment firm owned. “The time was just right. The real estate market has come back very, very strongly.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Matt Townsend in New York at mtownsend9@bloomberg.net; Linda Sandler in New York at lsandler@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Robin Ajello at rajello@bloomberg.net
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