Reuters Macy39;s said on Sunday it had rejected Arkhouse Management and partner Brigade Capital Management39;s 5.8 billion proposal to take the department store operator private, citing concerns over deal financing and valuation.

Like other legacy department store operators, Macy39;s has struggled to compete against younger, online competitors or peers with smaller brickandmortar footprints. This has given Arkhouse, a realestatefocused investing firm, and Brigade, a hedge fund, an opening to put pressure on Macy39;s to explore a sale.

The two investment firms submitted a proposal last month to acquire the shares of Macy39;s they don39;t already own for 21 a share. The duo sees the potential for a meaningful increase to the original proposal if we are granted access to the necessary due diligence, Arkhouse said in a statement.

But Macy39;s said the offer was not financially attractive or credible enough to grant such access.

The board has determined not to enter into a nondisclosure agreement or provide any due diligence information to Arkhouse and Brigade, Macy39;s said in a statement.

Macy39;s also said that information furnished by Arkhouse and Brigade failed to address its board39;s concerns regarding Arkhouse and Brigade39;s ability to finance their proposed transaction.

Macy39;s is not running a sale process with other parties and no other unsolicited bidders have emerged that meet the company39;s expectations about a potential deal, according to people…