Campeau Corp. Sets $1-Billion Price for Bloomingdale’s, Fixes Deadline for Bids

Debt-ridden Campeau Corp. will not accept less than $1 billion for its Bloomingdale’s department store chain and has set a Dec. 8 deadline for bids, a company spokesman said Friday.

Carol Sanger, spokesman at Campeau’s Cincinnati office, said if Campeau doesn’t get the price it wants, it will take the trend-setting chain off the auction block.

Sanger said a $1-billion minimum price tag for Bloomingdale’s “is pretty close to being correct.”

Campeau also has set Dec. 8 as a deadline for potential buyers to notify the retail and real estate company of the seriousness of their interest in acquiring Bloomingdale’s, Sanger said. A short list will then be drawn up.

Bloomingdale’s has 17 stores located in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Virginia, Maryland, Illinois, Florida and Texas.