Abercrombie & Fitch shares soared 14% to $14.50 ahead of Wednesday's opening bell after a Reuters report said the teen retailer hired an investment bank to assess takeover interest.Any potential suitor should be able to get a favorable price for the company, at least compared to a year ago. Abercrombie has plunged 61% since reaching a 16-month high in March 2016, erasing more than half of its market value.
The decision comes at a time when US retailers are closing stores and filing for bankruptcy at rates not seen since the financial crisis. As online sellers continue to take a bite out of their brick-and-mortar counterparts, companies like Abercrombie are scrambling to stay afloat.
Abercrombie has hired investment bank Perella Weinberg Partners to handle any potential deal, although there is no certainty that one will occur, according to the Reuters report.