Liz Claiborne Surges After WSJ Reports Talks With Buyout Firms

Liz Claiborne Inc. (LIZ) rose the most in more than five months after the Wall Street Journal reported that the retailer had held talks with private-equity firms about a possible buyout at about $20 a share.

The shares climbed 14 percent to $13.45 at 2:08 p.m. in New York after earlier rising as much as 30 percent, the biggest intraday gain since Oct. 12.

While Liz Claiborne isn’t currently considering a sale, KKR & Co. (KKR), Permira and Warburg Pincus LLC remain interested in taking the company private, the newspaper reported today, citing people familiar with the matter.

Jane Randel, a spokeswoman for New York-based Liz Claiborne, didn’t immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Cotten Timberlake in Washington at ctimberlake@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Robin Ajello at rajello@bloomberg.net