Kohl's fights off takeover bid and could it be Bucks in Six?

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·4 min read
Jrue Holiday and the Bucks will head to Boston to face Marcus Smart and the Celtics on Christmas Day.

Takeover averted for Kohl's Corp. as candidates win reelection by shareholders, ending battle with activist investor

  • Kohl's Corp. shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favor of the company's slate of candidates for the board of directors, effectively striking down a campaign by activist investors to take over the company — for now. According to a preliminary vote count on Monday, all 13 Kohl's candidates were reelected.

  • Macellum Capital Management has been pushing for regime and board change since January and nominated 10 people to be on the board. Although the vote went against Macellum, it's possible the fight is not over. In 2021, Macellum negotiated with Kohl’s and was able to get three board members elected by shareholders, so it is possible the activist investor could try again to get board control.

  • While much of Wall Street watched the fight between the company and activist investors, Kohl's has been evaluating bids to buy the company. As the stock market overall continues to be in decline, it's unclear if and at what number Kohl's will find a buyer. The company is continuing with its strategy to heavily invest in its partnership with Sephora by adding hundreds of new Sephora at Kohl's stores by the end of the year.

Advocate Aurora Health plans to merge with a North Carolina health system and move its headquarters

  • Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health announced plans to merge, creating the fifth-largest health system in the nation, with more than 150,000 employees and combined revenue of more than $27 billion. If approved by regulators, the merger would move Advocate Aurora's headquarters from Chicago and Milwaukee to Charlotte, North Carolina, where Atrium Health is based.

  • Advocate Aurora would continue to have a presence in Chicago and Milwaukee, including a new institute for health equity in Milwaukee.

  • Jim Skogsbergh, president and chief executive officer of Advocate Aurora Health, said moving Advocate Aurora's headquarters will have little effect on existing employees, who either work with patients or have worked remotely for the last two years. "Our headquarters both in Milwaukee and Chicago have been emptied out and we have learned headquarters is sort of a mailing address," Skogsbergh said. "Our work is done in the field, and at the bedside and in the laboratory. We don't think headquarters is significant. Aurora isn't going away. Aurora is going to be strong in Wisconsin."

Michael Gableman to receive $5,500 a month even as work on Wisconsin's Republican-led election review is paused

  • Attorney Michael Gableman will receive $5,500 a month from taxpayers for the foreseeable future to assist with lawsuits related to Assembly Republicans' review of the 2020 election. His work could continue well into next year but for now he won't spend time digging into the election, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos of Rochester said in an interview. "Until we win those lawsuits, you know, we are pausing the investigation because it's not like we're going to keep looking into things we've already discovered," Vos said.

  • Two lawsuits deal with what powers Gableman has. Three others center on the state's open records law, and in those proceedings. Vos and Gableman have faced a series of orders compelling them to turn over documents about the election review.

  • Democratic state Rep. Lisa Subeck of Madison said the new contract with Gableman would prove costly. "No matter what the terms of the contract, it's still a huge waste of taxpayer money to be paying Gableman for whatever it is exactly that he is doing currently," she said. "I think Vos has been trying to play both sides of this and really trying to appease a base that I don't think will ever be happy."

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The Fun Stuff

DRIVE-IN: The Milky Way Drive-In, the outdoor movie theater in the parking lot next to the Milwaukee Milkmen's stadium in Franklin, is reopening for the 2022 season with 2021's biggest movie: "Spider-Man: No Way Home."

SMASHING PUMPKINS: Smashing Pumpkins and Jane's Addiction announce a fall tour, with a Milwaukee stop at Fiserv Forum.

The Games

BUCKS: That was incredible. Down 14 points early in the 4th Quarter, the Bucks rallied behind two incredible defensive plays by Jrue Holiday for a 110-107 win. Game Six in Milwaukee Friday night. Bucks in Six?

BREWERS: Christian Yelich collected his third cycle against the Reds but it wasn't enough as the Brewers' pitching and defense collapsed in a 14-11 loss. On to Miami on Friday.

Today in Wisconsin History

On May 12, 1974, the Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Boston Celtics, 102-87, in Game 7 of the NBA finals. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored 26 for the losing side; Dave Cowens, who played for the Bucks in 1982-'83, scored 28 for the Celtics. Until last summer, the game was the last time the Bucks played in the league's championship series.

Today's Weather

Mostly sunny with a high of 79. Remember how it felt like winter, like, a week ago?

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Kohl's fights off takeover bid and could it be Bucks in Six?