Under Activist Investor Pressure, Hudson's Bay Sells Lord & Taylor Flagship Store

Multinational retail giant Hudson's Bay (TSX: HBC) has experienced another round of upheaval in the past week. Last Friday, the company revealed that its CEO will step down at the end of the month. On Monday, activist investor Jonathan Litt of Land and Buildings Investment Management announced plans to try to gain control of the board. And on Tuesday, Hudson's Bay announced a new wide-ranging partnership with shared-office start-up WeWork. Most notably, it will sell the Lord & Taylor flagship store building to an affiliate of WeWork.

These developments have set the stage for a proxy battle between Litt and Richard Baker, the executive chairman of Hudson's Bay, who is now also serving as interim CEO. Let's look at what the recent flurry of events means for Hudson's Bay and some of its key competitors.

Hudson's Bay is the second major department store company in recent years to be hounded by activist investors demanding an aggressive real estate monetization effort, following Macy's (NYSE: M).

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Source: Fool.com