Best Buy Founder Richard Schulze Offers $24-$26 A Share To Buy Retailer

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY) founder Richard Schulze, who stepped down as chairman this year, offered to take the troubled electronics retailer private at $24 to $26 a share, according to a letter sent to the board of directors on Monday.

Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY) soared 24.49 percent, to $21.95 a share in Monday's premarket trading.

Schulze, who owns 20.1 percent of Best Buy shares, said he will reinvest about $1 billion in equity from that stake, according to the statement. The rest of the money will come from what the letter calls "premier private equity firms with deep experience in retail who are interested in a possible acquisition of Best Buy" and debt financing.

The Richfield, Minnesota-based electronics chain had about $1.7 billion in long-term debt as of May 5, according to company filings.

"There is no question that now is the moment of truth for Best Buy and that immediate and substantial changes are needed for the company to return to its market-leading ways," Schulze, 71, said in the letter. "After assessing all of my options, it is my strong belief that Best Buy's best chance for renewed success is to implement with urgency the necessary changes as a private company."

Schulze spent 46 years with Best Buy and its predecessor company, Sound of Music, after founding the company in 1966.