Business

Lord & Taylor’s Canadian parent company files for IPO

It’s official: the Canada-based company that owns Lord & Taylor is going public.

Confirming a Sept. 4 exclusive report on The Post’s Web site, L&T parent Hudson’s Bay filed for an initial public offering that could raise more than $500 million.

The debut, slated for the Toronto Stock Exchange in the coming weeks, is expected to make as much as 20 percent of the company available to the public, valuing it at upwards of $2.5 billion — plus the assumption of $1 billion in debt.

The filing touted the prime retail space occupied by Lord & Taylor shops, including the chain’s 98-year-old flagship on Fifth Avenue.

Owned by NRDC Equity Partners, which is run by New York real-estate mogul Richard Baker, Hudson’s Bay also operates The Bay, a Canada department-store chain that’s somewhat more upscale than Macy’s.

“We believe our real-estate portfolio provides us with a sustainable competitive advantage and acts as a significant barrier to entry in these markets,” the filing said.

Lord & Taylor and The Bay have managed higher sales and profits during the past few years despite a bumpy economy.

“Our investments in Hudson’s Bay since July 2008 have enabled us to add new, sought-after brands and Hudson’s Bay is becoming a fashion authority in Canada,” it said in the filing.

Hudson’s Bay President Bonnie Brooks, a luxe veteran, has been remodeling stores, updating fashions and upgrading service.

Last year, the company racked up $3.85 billion in sales and produced $316 million in Ebitda, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

Sales are up 7 percent in the first half of the fiscal year over the same period last year, the company said.

Some analysts have fretted that The Bay will face stiffer competition next year, when Target is slated to enter Canada.

Such concerns are overblown, according to Gilbert Harrison, chairman of Financo, a New York investment bank.

“The Target customer is closer to the Walmart customer” than it is to shoppers at The Bay, Harrison said.

Founded in 1670 as a fur-trading company, Hudson’s Bay is North America’s oldest commercial operation. Lord & Taylor was founded in New York in 1826.

Baker purchased the two companies in 2006 and 2008, respectively, for a total of about $2 billion.