Richard Schulze has been working to buy back Best Buy, the company he founded, by enlisting private equity partners. But now, just two weeks before a deadline to make his bid, he may instead aim for a minority stake in Best Buy by working with investors, reports The Wall Street Journal and Reuters, citing sources.
The saga began last August, when Schulze told the Best Buy Board of Directors he was interested in buying back the company. But reports say he has been unable to get the financing he needs.
Now he is talks with investors to take a minority stake in the chain. This would be separate from his current 20 percent stake, which already makes him Best Buy’s largest shareholder.
Last year, Best Buy’s CEO (and reported Schulze protégé) Brian Dunn, resigned in a scandal due to an alleged relationship with a female employee. The scandal also resulted in Schulze’s ouster from the board and Best Buy’s hiring of new CEO Hubert Joly.
Again, Shulze’s deadline to make a bid for Best Buy is at the end of the month.
Source: Reuters, The Wall Street Journal
