Eddie Bauer warms up to buyout offer

REDMOND, Wash., Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Sun Capital Partners Inc. and Golden Gate Capital are offering to buy Washington state recreational retailer Eddie Bauer for $614 million.

The all-cash deal by the two private equity firms marks an approximate 12 percent premium to the prior four weeks' average closing price of Eddie Bauer's common stock.

The proposal, which Eddie Bauer's board is recommending to its shareholders, caps a strategic review process that began in May, the 86-year-old retailer said Monday in a release.