Reports surfaced last month that Best Buy (BBY) founder and former CEO Richard Schulze, who is trying to buy his former company, had asked the retailer for an extra 30 days to conduct due diligence before decided whether to make a bid. Schulze was said to be working with three private-equity firms to offer a more appealing proposal to the company and had also been interested to see how Best Buy performed over the holiday season. The retailer announced on Friday, however, that it has agreed to extend the founder’s deadline to February 28th.
“Both parties believe that allowing Mr. Schulze to bring his offer after the holiday season and fiscal year-end is in the best interests of shareholders and provides Mr. Schulze and his potential partners with an opportunity to include the Company’s full year results as part of their due diligence review,” the company said in its press release. “Accordingly, Best Buy and Mr. Schulze have mutually agreed that Mr. Schulze will have the opportunity to deliver the proposal to the Board of Directors on or after February 1, 2013 through February 28, 2013.”
After Schulze delivers his bid, which is expected to be one of the largest buyouts in recent years, Best Buy’s board of directors will have 30 days to review the offer and make a decision.
