Billionaire Who Bought Macy’s Stake Bets on Foot Locker
Czech Billionaire Who Bought Macy’s Stake Bets on Foot Locker
(Bloomberg) -- Daniel Kretinsky, the Czech billionaire who invested in Macy’s Inc. earlier this month, disclosed that he also bought shares in another beaten-down U.S. retailer: Foot Locker Inc.
Kretinsky’s Vesa Equity Investment acquired 6% of the company’s common shares, according to a U.S. regulatory filing. His stake in the New York-based sneaker store chain has a current market value of about $169 million.
Kretinsky, 44, has been scooping up shares of troubled retailers, investing last year in France’s Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA after a $6.5 billion takeover offer for Germany’s Metro AG was rebuffed. A former private-equity lawyer, Kretinsky now owns Energeticky a Prumyslovy Holding AS, one of the largest power companies in central Europe, as well as the Sparta Prague soccer team.
Kretinsky declined to comment on his Foot Locker stake.
Foot Locker, like other retailers, has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic. The company in March withdrew its forecast for this year and said it would temporarily shutter stores in most parts of the globe, including North America. Foot Locker shares rose 4.8% to $28.30 at 2:31 p.m. in New York trading. They’re still down 27% this year.
In disclosing his 5% stake in Macy’s last week, Kretinsky, who tested positive for the coronavirus in March, said he planned to work with management to improve the department store chain’s performance. Macy’s was dropped from the S&P 500 benchmark in March and Fitch cut the company’s credit rating to junk levels last month.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.