April 18 (Reuters) - Nordstrom said the founding

family behind the department store chain had shown an interest

in exploring a go-private deal, and the company's board had

formed a special committee of independent directors to look into

it.

The move by CEO Erik Nordstrom and President Pete Nordstrom

comes at a time when department store chains across the U.S. are

grappling with weak sales as sticky inflation and elevated

borrowing costs prompt customers to rethink their discretionary

spending.

The Seattle-based retailer said the committee would

evaluate any proposal from the founding family as well as other

parties.

Nordstrom's shares were up about 2% in after hours trading.

Reuters had first reported in March, citing sources, that

the founding family was looking to take the company private, six

years after a similar attempt turned out to be unsuccessful.

In 2017, the company announced that the members of the

family had formed a group to explore the possibilities of going

private, including the acquisition of all outstanding shares of

the company.

But the department store operator in 2018 rejected that bid

worth $8.4 billion, saying it was low. It later ended

discussions with the family, which had also found it difficult

to arrange for debt financing after failing to agree on an

acceptable price.

The founding family currently owns about 30% of the

company's outstanding shares, as of March 2024.

Rival Macy's has also received several offers in

recent months from its investors Arkhouse Management and Brigade

Capital to be taken private, while Kohl's has also come

under pressure as an activist hedge fund chaired by former

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was pushing the U.S.

retailer to sell itself.