(Reuters) - Canadian retailer Hudson's Bay Co (HBC) (>> Hudson's Bay Co) is close to buying U.S. luxury department store Saks Inc (>> Saks Inc), according to a media report.
The New York Post reported on Sunday that the deal could be announced as early as Monday, citing a source briefed on the negotiations.
A Saks spokeswoman said the company did not comment on market speculation. HBC was not immediately available for comment.
HBC, which owns Canada's The Bay chain, also owns Lord & Taylor, a higher end chain concentrated in the U.S. Northeast and Midwest whose sales have been uneven since it went public.
Buying Saks would give HBC a luxury chain, but one which has struggled to keep pace with rivals Nordstrom Inc (>> Nordstrom, Inc.) and Neiman Marcus Group Inc
Saks' sales are only now returning to pre-recession levels. The company's flagship store on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue generates about $700 million a year and is worth about $1 billion by some estimates.
According to the newspaper, Saks has appointed Goldman Sachs & Co
(Reporting By Nicola Leske and Phil Wahba; Editing by Stephen Coates)