BJ’s Wholesale Club is up on the auction block, and rumor has it that Amazon may be interested in sinking its teeth in.
BJ’s, the Northeast equivalent to Sam’s Club, is moving away from its former plan of filing for an IPO due to Wall Street concerns about brick-and-mortar retail stores’ rise in closures. While the company’s current owners, CVC Capital Partners and Leonard Green & Partners, are looking to sell for just north of $4 billion, BJ’s has been talking to various banks about its pending sales process.
In addition to Amazon, the other players involved in the bidding process include KKR, Bain Capital, TPG, Blackstone and Walmart.
As Amazon continues its forward momentum in the eCommerce space, it has been moving into the brick-and-mortar arena in the last few years via its Amazon Fresh grocery stores. Buying big warehouse store locations like BJ’s Wholesale Club, which has 213 locations and makes $250 million annually from membership fees alone, may just be the strike of luck for Amazon’s physical location goals.
While neither Amazon or BJ’s is commenting on the possible acquisition murmurings, it will be likely a long drawn-out scenario to watch over the next few quarters. If Amazon does move forward with this, it will have a significant foothold in the northeastern part of the United States, which may help it maintain its eCommerce top spot over Walmart.
