Best Buy founder looks to take the retailer private

After ousting its CEO and closing a slew of stores, it’s safe to say that Best Buy has had a difficult year. As the company’s stock continues to tumble, its founder Richard Schulze is planning to try and take the company private, according to The Wall Street Journal. Schulze is the retailer’s largest shareholder with roughly a 20% stake in the company, and he resigned from his post as chairman of the board earlier this month. The founder fears his holdings will continue to decline unless major changes are made at the company, although the Journal’s sources claim he doesn’t want to run the troubled retailer again. A potential buyout will be rather pricey, however. Best Buy’s value currently sits at roughly $8 billion, so a buyout offer would likely have to come in as high as $11 billion to gain the interest of other shareholders, the Journal noted.

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