No deal yet for Liberty House

Advertiser Staff

Liberty House officials continued to remain silent yesterday about the possibility of a sale of the longtime Hawai'i retailer to Federated Department Stores.

Late last week and early this week, sources with knowledge of negotiations about a planned purchase confirmed Federated's intent to buy Liberty House and convert at least some stores to the Macy's brand.

No deal was signed as of Tuesday, and negotiations could still fall apart. Details remain undisclosed.

Officials with Cincinnati-based Federated declined comment again yesterday.

Liberty House is owned primarily by private investment firms Oaktree Capital Management LLC of Los Angeles and DDJ Capital Management LLC of Wellesley, Mass., which acquired the retailer in a bankruptcy reorganization in March.

JMB Realty Corp. of Chicago had owned Liberty House since 1988.

Liberty House operates 20 stores in Hawai'i and Guam, including 12 department stores and eight resort and specialty shops. The company has about 3,000 employees and about $285 million in annual sales.

Federated, an $18.4 billion company, operates 432 stores across the country under the Macy's, Bloomingdale's, The Bon Marche, Rich's, Burdines, Lazarus and Goldsmith's names.

Macy's is Federated's largest chain, with about 228 stores, roughly $9 billion in annual sales and more than 58,000 employees.

Analysts said an acquisition in Hawai'i also could move Federated a step closer to the long-considered possibility of overseas retailing.

Company chairman and chief executive James Zimmerman has said in the past that Federated has and is considering possible expansion into Europe and Asia.