Best Buy Founder Gets A Little More Time To Figure Out How To Buy Company Back

Just yesterday it seemed Best Buy founder Howard Schulze would have a stressful weekend, as he was supposed to come with an offer, any offer, to buy his company back by Sunday. But it seems he’s been issued a bit of a reprieve, as the electronics retailer said today that it will give Schulze until Feb. 28 to make his bid for the company. We can feel the relieved exhalation from here.

The New York Times notes that this extension will give Schulze and his private equity partners precious months to come up with the right offer and look at how holiday sales went at Best Buy before making a bid.

But, Best Buy said, just because he’s got more time on the clock doesn’t mean the company will necessarily accept whatever offer he comes up with.

Some investors seem to be getting a little bit squirrelly about Schulze’s chances to make this deal really happen, as stocks fell 17% this morning on the news of Best Buy granting the extension. He’s got about a 20% stake in the company, but there are concerns that he’ll be able to rustle up enough equity and debt financing to pull this thing off.

It’s unclear what kind of company Schulze will even end up with if he’s successful — gone are the days of Best Buy being the hottest ticket in town for electronics. Now customers can play around with products in big box stores before hopping onto the Internet to find a cheaper price elsewhere.

Best Buy Gives Founder More Time to Make a Bid [New York Times]

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