Shares of luxury department store Saks are lower in after-hours trading Thursday after Dow Jones reported that the private-equity owners of Neiman Marcus rebuffed an overture to merge the companies, citing people familiar with the matter.
Neiman's private-equity owners want to either sell the department store to another buyer or take it public in an IPO, according to the report. They reportedly aren't close to making a decision.
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The news report also said that private-equity firm KKR is considering an investment in Saks, possibly with an eye toward pursuing a merger with Neiman.
(Read More: Saks First-Quarter Sales Beat Estimates)
A report in the New York Post last week said that Saks had hired Goldman Sachs to advise it on strategic alternatives, which could include a sale.
(Read More: Saks Shares Surge After Strategic Options Report)