The founding family finally came up with an offer of $50 a share with a total value of about $8.4 billion in order to buy out the company. This bid was termed insufficient by the independent directors of the board who also threatened to abort discussions if a subsequent suitable offer was not made.
Nordstrom does not have a CEO like its peers. It is operated by a co-president triad whose members Blake Nordstrom, Erik Nordstrom, and Peter Nordstrom are all part of the founding family faction.
A special committee appointed by the board to oversee the transaction has prohibited the management from sharing any due-diligence information with the family group.
The family has termed the current deal as generous, so it remains to be seen whether it will be willing to raise its offer and to what extent. There is also a possibility that external buyers could take an interest in the transaction and perhaps place their own bets.