J. Crew M&A Observation and Buying

. The deadline for the Crew merger observation period (finance industry term: Go-Shop) has passed.

TPG Capital and Leonard Green & Partners proposed to invest 2.86 billion U.S. dollars, or 43.50 U.S. dollars, to buy J. Crew Group. According to the regulations, the observation period for consideration of the acquisition has expired last week, and if there is a new purchaser, the acquisition intention must be submitted before the observation period expires.

Millard Drexler, chief executive of J. Crew, said: In addition to TPG, he was unwilling to work for a new boss. Before J.Crew was listed in 2006, he was affiliated with TPG Group.

The M&A observation period totaled 53 days, which was longer than the average company's M&A observation period. It also gave potential buyers sufficient time to examine the sales of the 2010 holiday. Sears Holdings Corp., Urban Outfitters Inc., and two other privately held companies are considering buying J. Crew. Even if there is no successful acquisition in the end, these companies also have a golden opportunity to learn more about the internal situation of J. Crew.

Sears intends to make regular acquisitions, but so far there has been no report that the acquisition was honored. In 2008, the company intended to purchase Restoration Hardware, but it ended in failure.

Matthew Kaness, executive director of Urban Outfitters, said at the conference last month that the company has been using mergers and acquisitions as a way to increase its portfolio. Last year, Urban Outfitters had sales of $1.94 billion, which was higher than J. Crew’s $1.54 billion in sales.