An activist investor urged women's apparel retailer Ann Inc to sell itself, failing which each of the company's board members should purchase back stock as a "sign of confidence".Shares of the company, which owns the Ann Taylor and Loft brands, rose as much as 7 percent to $40.12.Engine Capital LP, which along with Red Alder LLC controls "in excess of 1 percent" of Ann's stock, said in a joint letter to the company that Ann would be worth $50-$55 per share to a private equity firm or even more to a "strategic buyer".That values Ann at about $2.29 billion to $2.52 billion - a premium of as much as 47 percent to Friday's closing price, which valued the company at $1.72 billion.
ANN INC., through its wholly owned subsidiaries, is a specialty retailer of women?s apparel, shoes and accessories sold primarily under the Ann Taylor and LOFT brands. Shares of ANN traded higher by 4.53% or $1.7/share to $39.22. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $30.71 and as high as $43.61. On average, 667511 shares of ANN exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 1132496.
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