PE Firm Sycamore Partners Offers To Buy Retailer Express

Last night, Sycamore partners disclosed a 9.9% stake in Express, and said it is performing due diligence for a bid to acquire all the remaining shares of Express it does not already own.

In pre-market trade, shares of Express are up more than 25%.

In a press release, Express confirmed receipt of Sycamore's letter to the board, and adopted a "poison pill" provision which prevents any shareholder from acquiring more than 10% of the company.

Before Sycamore announced their intentions, shares of Express had been down more than 25% year-to-date.

On May 29, Express reported first quarter sales that fell 10% against the prior year, and said that its second quarter results would disappoint.

This deal will be upstaged by the huge deal for Priceline to acquire OpenTable for $2.6 billion, but its been a busy day of M&A activity to close the week.