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Aeropostale has a message for any buyout firms that may be circling: Buzz off!
The New York-based teen apparel retailer — whose shares got hammered last week by a disappointing fourth-quarter outlook and a management shuffle — has hired Barclays Capital as a strategic adviser, The Post has learned.
But rather than using Barclays to explore options including a possible sale, Aeropostale is doing the opposite: preparing for a defense in case it’s approached by private-equity firms, according to a person close to the situation.
“Management is in this for the long haul, and they want the company to stay public,” the person told The Post, speaking on the condition of not being identified. “This is not a situation like Gymboree, where the managers took a fat paycheck to go private.”
Kids’ clothing retailer Gymboree startled Wall Street in October when it accepted a $1.8 billion offer from private-equity firm Bain Capital. And again last month, investors were surprised as preppy clothier J. Crew announced it would go private, selling itself for a second time to Texas-based buyout giant TPG.
Those events have stoked speculation that other mall-based retailers may be in the crosshairs of buyout firms.
Aeropostale — whose shares have stalled this year amid fierce price competition with archrivals Abercrombie & Fitch and American Eagle Outfitters — has been a focus of especially intense speculation.
Chatter has likewise targeted Abercrombie and American Eagle in recent months, as price wars have sapped profits and drained share prices of all three firms. Whispers in retail circles have KKR and Blackstone sniffing around the teen retailers.
Aeropostale’s dismal holiday outlook last week — along with the news that co-CEO Mindy Meads left the company — took the talk to a new level. This week, rumors circulated that Aeropostale had hired Goldman Sachs to explore a possible sale.
But the 958-store chain is “not doing anything with Goldman,” according to a source close to the situation.
A spokesman for the chain, whose shares fell 33 cents to $23.57 yesterday, leaving them up just 3.8 percent for the year, didn’t respond to a request for comment. james.covert@nypost.com