Abercrombie & Fitch has tapped Goldman Sachs as an adviser as it faces pressure from an activist shareholder, sources told The Post.
Shares of the struggling teen retailer rose 5.4 percent yesterday on reports that it hired the Wall Street bank, as investors wagered that it may put itself up for sale.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t immediately clear whether an auction is planned.
As previously reported by The Post, Abercrombie CEO Mike Jeffries has been under fire from big shareholders, including Relational Investors, a San Diego-based hedge fund headed by corporate cage-rattler Ralph Whitworth.
Yesterday afternoon, Abercrombie shares rose as much as 7.8 percent after CNBC reported that the chain had hired Goldman to deal with Whitworth.
Relational recently increased its stake in Abercrombie to 3.8 percent, up from about 2 percent earlier this year, according to securities filings.
Meanwhile, activist shareholder Dan Loeb, whose firm Third Point had amassed a 2 percent Abercrombie stake earlier this year, appears to have sold off his investment in the chain.
Whitworth and Abercrombie officials didn’t respond to requests for comment yesterday. A Goldman representative declined to comment.
Jeffries has been getting heat for the retailer’s costly push into European markets, which has yielded lukewarm results.
While the Abercrombie CEO has responded to pressure by cutting overseas growth plans and closing laggard stores, demand for its preppie fashions has been faltering.
In the most recent quarter, Abercrombie’s same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, dropped 10 percent.
Abercrombie shares yesterday closed at $37.92, up $1.95.