Despite earlier reports from the New York Post that the Kohl's (NYSE:KSS) auction was "delayed indefinitely", the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday evening that the company has a mid-$50s bid from Sycamore and a $60 bid from Franchise Group.
The board of Kohl's is expected to review the bids in the coming days, the report added.
Earlier in the year, Starboard Value-backed Acacia Research submitted a $64 per share bid for the company. However, macro-economic factors have since changed due to surging inflation and rising interest rates, and a number of bidders, including Hudson Bay, have been said to have dropped out of the running for Kohl's.
In mid-May, the company posted dismal first-quarter results and outlook. Sales for the year are now expected to be in the range of 0% to 1% as compared to the prior year. They had seen revenue growth of 2% to 3%.
After trading down over 8% on the NYP report that the deal was dead, shares are now up 5% to $43.