KKR, Sycamore consider joint bid for retailer Jones Group

Private-equity firms KKR & Co LP and Sycamore Partners are considering a joint bid for Jones Group, the fashion and footwear company that owns retail chains Nine West and Jones New York, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

A number of other private-equity and industry players are considering offers for parts of the company, the paper said.

Reuters reported in July that Jones Group had hired Citigroup Inc to explore a potential sale and that the company was in the early stages of reaching out to private equity and industry players to gauge interest in buying it as a whole or in pieces

Second-round bids for the New York-based company is due within the next two weeks and a deal could follow soon after that, assuming one is struck at all, the paper added.

Jones Group, Sycamore Partners and KKR declined to comment.

Shares of the company, which currently has a market valuation of $1.16 billion, closed up 4 percent at $15.11 on the New York Stock Exchange.