Hudson’s Bay Reaches New Deal to Go Private

The deal to take Hudson’s Bay Co. private is back on. A group of shareholders including Richard Baker agreed to buy out the company’s minority stockholders for $11 Canadian a share — giving the Saks Fifth Avenue parent a valuation of $2 billion. (The deal for the company, listed in Toronto, is valued in Canadian dollars). WWD first reported that a new deal was in the works on Monday. Executive chairman Baker and his partners, which already control 58 percent of the firm, initially proposed buying out minority shareholders at $9.45 a share, using proceeds from the 1 billion euro sale of the company’s European operations. That price was later upped to $10.30, an offer that was accepted by a special committee set up by the firm’s board, but was rebuffed by minority shareholders.  Now, Baker has reached a deal with the firm’s largest minority shareholder, The Catalyst Capital Group Inc., which once offered to buy the firm itself for $11 a share. Catalyst holds 32.2 million shares of the firm now and has signed a voting and support agreement backing the new deal.  David Leith, chair of the board’s special committee, said: “We are pleased to have reached agreement with the continuing shareholders for

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