David Jones would have to be a sitting duck for a takeover right now. And given the recent frenzy from private equity groups salivating over the prospect of securing Billabong, attention surely must now switch to David Jones.
It's a tantalising prize. A revered brand name, a stock price that has taken a hammering, a modestly geared balance sheet, and, my oh my, all that lazy real estate just sitting there on the books. That's the sort of combination that would make a pirate, sorry, private equity player simply squeal with delight, fantasising about all those doubloons to cart back to the Caribbean.
Ben Gray and the boys from TPG made a killing from Myer simply by offloading the property and leasing it back, delivering some mighty handsome dividends even before it floated the group on Melbourne Cup day 2009.
DJS Price at posting:
$2.43 Sentiment: LT Buy Disclosure: Held
