Clinton Group Considers Offer for Wet Seal

Activist hedge fund Clinton Group announced that it is exploring options for a possible takeover of

“The Reporting Persons [i.e Clinton Group] are exploring financing alternatives to enable the Reporting Persons or one of their affiliates to make an offer to purchase the equity of the Issuer in a “going private” transaction,” according to an amended 13D Filing from Clinton Group that was released on December 18. Wet Seal is a specialty retailer that sells apparel and accessory items for female customers. The retailer faced a challenging 2013 which included radical leadership changes after the activist fund agreed to drop its proxy battle with the company in exchange for naming four board seats. Back in August, the activist fund urged the company to renew its stock plan, saying a return of capital could add to the company's future earnings. At that time, the activist fund held an approximate 6.5 percent stake in the company. According to a regulatory filling, the activist fund had increased its ownership stake in the retailer to 7.78 percent as of December 17. Shares of Wet Seal traded higher by more than 6 percent following the news release but have since retracted and given up most of those gains.