Best Buy, the electricals retailer that quit Britain last year is on the verge of making another retreat as its founder revealed he was attempting to take the chain private.
Richard Schulze — who resigned as chairman in June after failing to disclose an affair the chief executive was having with a female member of staff — is putting together a deal which could value New York-listed Best Buy at $8.5 billion (£5.5 billion).
In a letter sent to the board of directors, Schulze, 71, who owns a 20% stake in the business, said he planned to raise funds from “premier private-equity firms with deep experience in retail who are interested in a possible acquisition of Best Buy”.
He has also recruited several of the executives who worked for him at the company he set up as audio specialist Sound of Music in Minnesota in 1966.
Best Buy came to Britain four years ago promising to shake up the moribund electricals market in partnership with Sir Charles Dunstone’s Carphone Warehouse. Last autumn it said that tough competition meant it would shut the 11 “big box” stores that had been opened and buy Carphone out of an American partnership that saw it open more mobile phone outlets.
However, it still owns 50% of Carphone’s stores in Europe and has a profit-sharing deal to expand together into China and Mexico.
Best Buy plunged to a net loss last year and has been closing stores in America to combat the loss of custom to Amazon and other online competitors.
