Takeover Talks

Elder-Beerman Stores (Dayton, Ohio) said it received unsolicited takeover bids and was in talks with one unnamed party about the possible sale of the company. The department store operator has hired RBC Capital Markets as its adviser, but said there are no assurances that a sale of the company would occur.

Under a letter agreement signed by both parties, Elder-Beerman and the interested party will negotiate on an exclusive basis for a limited period of time. Elder-Beerman gave no details on the takeover bids or interested parties.

Elder-Beerman, the nation's ninth-largest independent department store chain, operates 68 stores in Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. In November 2003, the retailer will expand to a ninth state by opening a store in Muscatine, Iowa.