Dayton Hudson to Buy Marshall Field Stores : Retail: BAT Industries PLC, a British conglomerate, has agreed to sell the chain for about $1.04 billion.

Minneapolis retailer Dayton Hudson Corp. on Thursday added a new jewel to its department store crown, announcing that it has reached agreement to buy Marshall Field & Co. for about $1.04 billion.

“We view this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Dayton Hudson Chairman Kenneth Macke said in disclosing the agreement to purchase Field’s from BAT Industries PLC, a British conglomerate. “This is a great strategic fit for us.”

At a Chicago news conference, Macke said his company expects to complete the deal for Field’s, which operates 24 stores in Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin and Texas, within the next two months.

He said Dayton Hudson had no immediate plans to close any Field’s stores or make dramatic changes in Field’s strategy, and reiterated a commitment to the ongoing renovation of Field’s flagship store in Chicago’s Loop.

The acquisition will be financed with a combination of internally generated funds and a mix of debt instruments, the retailer said. Dayton Hudson does not plan an equity offering.

“We will have absolutely no problem financing the deal,” said Macke, who added that junk bonds would play no role in the purchase.

Thursday’s announcement capped a buyout effort by a number of groups, including current Marshall Field Chairman and Chief Executive Philip Miller and a Field’s management team.

Miller, who is widely credited with helping turn Field’s around in the past five years, said he was disappointed by the news but was taking a wait-and-see attitude before announcing any plans.

While saying it was too early to discuss management changes, Macke and Dayton Hudson President Stephen Watson said they planned to meet with Miller soon.

“Phil Miller and his team have done an extraordinary job . . . of building this company,” Watson said.

Others said to be bidding for Field’s were May Department Stores Co., based in St. Louis, and Dillard Department Stores Inc., based in Little Rock, Ark.

Analyst Marcia Raley, of Dain Bosworth Inc. in Minneapolis, said the purchase would appear to be a good deal for Dayton Hudson.

“The fit is exceptionally good,” she said.

“I think it’s a very, very strong strategic bid for them,” she said, adding the acquisition price appeared to fair.

Marshall Field’s, 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.

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, with 408 stores in 32 states, and Mervyn’s, with 221 stores in 15 states.