Dayton Hudson Agrees to Buy Marshall Field

Dayton Hudson Corp. today announced an agreement to buy the Marshall Field & Co. department store chain for about $1.04 billion from BAT Industries PLC, a British conglomerate.

The purchase of the famous Chicago-based retailer is expected to be completed within two months. The deal will link two of the Midwest’s biggest retailers and will expand Minneapolis-based Dayton Hudson’s presence in Chicago and several other regional cities.

The definitive agreement with Batus Inc., BAT’s U.S. subsidiary, must be approved by regulators.

Dayton Hudson said it plans to keep all 24 Marshall Field stores in Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin and Texas open for business.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to add another premier name to our department store division,” said Kenneth A. Macke, Dayton Hudson’s chairman and chief executive officer.

Marshall Field, one of the country’s best known department store groups, was put up for sale last year by BAT as part of a restructuring to defend itself against a hostile takeover bid by Sir James Goldsmith.

BAT, a large conglomerate with interests ranging from tobacco to financial services and retailing, also is selling its Saks Fifth Avenue division.

Dayton Hudson’s department store division operates 37 stores known as either Dayton’s or Hudson’s in their respective markets in seven Midwestern states. Dayton Hudson also owns the Target chain, one of the country’s biggest discounters with 408 stores in 32 states, and Mervyn’s, a moderate-priced department store company with 221 stores in 15 states.