Richard Schulze, the 71 year old founder of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY), has finally been allowed to conduct due diligence in his ongoing efforts to acquire Best Buy. This came after Best Buy, the largest global electronic retailer, arrived at an agreement with Schulze.
In a statement released today by the Richfield Minnesota-based company, it has been revealed that Schulze will be allowed to table a fully financed proposal to the company. All the same, this is not a guarantee that the proposal will go through. The company will hold the right to review the proposal. In addition to that, the proposal should be presented 60 days after the diligence period commences.
In the event that the company rejects Schulze’s proposal, he will be compelled to hold fire until January, 2013, when he will be allowed to pursue an acquisition through alternative means.
The arrival of this agreement has given Schulze a gateway into the company’s financial information; a factor that may prove instrumental in Schulze’s attempts to acquire the in the company.
Though Schulze left the company back in June, it is now clearly evident that he is not ready to part ways with a company that has defined his life for over 40 years.
Schulze has also been offered full control of two board seats. This offer comes after the company gave reasonable consideration to Schulze’s estimated 20 percent stake in the company. All the same, if Schulze fails to meet the terms of the standstill agreement, the company has made it clear that he will lose the chance to control the two seats.
All through, the discussions leading to this agreement have been shadowed by pressure from shareholders who have been anxious to hear the earnings report. A source familiar to the matter even reveals that the final stretch of the discussion commenced after the company reported its quarterly earnings earlier in August.
Briefly moving over to the earnings, Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)’s current financial position is not all that amusing- at least that is what investors feel. The company’s latest earnings tell of a story of a company stuck in the morass of mediocrity and declining performance. In the quarter ending on August 4th, its earnings plunged 87 percent year-over-year. This underscored the growing uncertainty in the company’s stock. To aggravate the already botched situation, the company is still grappling with the waves of a turn around.
Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) opened trading at $18.50 a share.
