Jones Group Shares Up 8% On Reports Of Potential Sale

(RTTNews) - Shares of Jones Group, Inc. (JNY) surged nearly 8 percent in regular trading on Monday after reports of the Nine West parent hiring Citigroup, Inc. (C) to explore a potential sale of the company. The company is said to have been sending feelers to private equity firms and rivals to sell part, some brands or the entire company.

Jones Group is the owner of retail chains such as Nine West and Jones New York. The company's portfolio of brands also includes Anne Klein, Easy Spirit, Rachel Roy and Enzo Angiolini. The company currently has a market capitalization of 1.16 billion. The New York-based fashion company, founded in 1975, was formerly known as Jones Apparel Group, Inc. and changed its name to The Jones Group, Inc. in October 2010.

Jones Group had in late April announced the shuttering of about 170 underperforming domestic retail stores by mid-2014, and elimination of eight percent of its workforce as part of a strategic plan to improve profitability.

The company plans to reset its domestic retail business through the reduction of the underperforming stores as well as streamline certain wholesale divisions and the supply chain.

Jones Group generated revenues of $3.80 billion in 2012, and posted a net loss of $54.3 million or $0.72 per share.

JNY closed Monday's regular trading session at $15.75, up $1.11 or 7.58% on a volume of 5.46 million shares after hitting a 52-week high of $17.00 earlier in the day.