BJ’s Looking for Buyer: Report

BJ’s Wholesale Club has retained New York-based investment bank JPMorgan to help it find a buyer, The New York Post reported, citing “two sources close to the situation.”

Reports of an impending BJ’s sale or initial public offering have been circulating since earlier this year.

The private equity firms that own the Westborough, Mass.-based company, CVC Capital Partners and Leonard Green & Partners, are interested in an offer of between $4 billion and $4.5 billion, the Post reported. The firms recently dropped plans for an IPO, partly based on the poor performance of listed retailers.

So far, no potential buyer has expressed serious interest in purchasing BJ’s, although recent reports indicate that Amazon is a possible suitor.

When purchased by its current owners in 2011, BJ’s had 190 clubs, but has grown by only 12 percent since then, the Post noted. Despite speculation at the time of the acquisition, the financially troubled chain hasn’t expanded nationally.

BJ’s operates 213 warehouse clubs and 130 gas stations in 15 states.