Illinois Kohl's Stores To Be Acquired By Competitor: Report

ILLINOIS — Department store giant Kohl's has been offered an acquisition deal by competitor JCPenney for a whopping $8.6 billion, according to a New York Post report. The deal could include all of the chain's stores, including the 66 locations in Illinois.

Simon Property and Brookfield Asset Management, both of which aided JCPenney out of bankruptcy in 2020, have reportedly offered $68 per share to acquire the Wisconsin-based retailer.

The JCPenney and Kohl's brands will remain separate, a source told The Post, with plans to streamline operations, merge IT systems and slash costs. All private apparel is set to be manufactured by the same label, according to the outlet.

The bidders aim to cut $1 billion in costs over the next three years, according to the report.

If finalized, the sale would nix plans to bring more Sephora locations inside Kohl's stores. It's not immediately clear what the fate of the already-existent Sephora counters in Illinois will be.

The partnership with the beauty brand, which aimed to "draw new and younger customers" to Kohl's department stores, began in 2020, with the two companies planning for several more beauty counters to open this year. About 850 Sephora stores inside Kohl's stores are planned to open by 2023.

Other interested bidders have included Saks Fifth Avenue's parent company Hudson's Bay, as well as private equity firms Sycamore Partners and Leonard Green & Partners, according to the New York Post.

Goldman Sachs has reportedly been pitched to facilitate the potential sales process, the report said.

There are 66 Kohl's locations in Illinois, compared with 24 JCPenney stores in the state.

Patch editors Justin Heinze and Nicole Rosenthal contributed to this report