Talk about not wasting any time.
According to multiple source reports to Re/code, Gilt Groupe is finalizing a deal to sell to Saks Fifth Avenue’s parent company, Hudson’s Bay Company, for $250 million in a transaction that might be finalized as early as this morning (Jan. 7).
Hudson’s Bay Company, apart from Saks and now Gilt, is also the owner of Hudson’s Bay, Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH.
Reports for the coming acquisition began to surface last month, and though a final deal is expected later today, some sources did note that negotiations were ongoing into last night.
The sale is something of an anticlimactic end for Gilt, once one of the startup world’s biggest rising stars, snapping up $280 million in venture funding and an eventual valuation of $1.1 billion.
The firm was a “flash sale” leader — an eCommerce style that has fallen out of favor as the quality of goods on offer began to decline.
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The goods news is that while flash sales have proven unsustainable as a standalone, the model tends to do better as a part of a larger organization — see Nordstrom and HauteLook.
A Gilt spokeswoman declined to comment, and a Hudson’s Bay rep didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
