Jones Group, parent company of Nine West, is at the early stages of sending out feelers to private equity and industry player about intents on putting the company on sale.
The report for the sales came just months Barington Capital scored a seat on the Jones Group board of directors amid the push to persuade the company to trim its more than 35 brands.
There are no clear reports on which specific parties were contacted by Citigroup and how much a possible takeover would be worth.
With the news that Jones Group hired Citi to handle the deal sent Jones Group's stock soaring as much as 16% to a 52-week high of $17.00 Monday afternoon.
Based in New York, the fashion company's portfolio of brands includes Nine West, Anne Klein, Easy Spirit, Jones New York, Rachel Roy and Enzo Angiolini.
The Jones Group which is based in New York employs more than 62,000 people and generated an estimated US$3.80 billion in annual revenues for 2012. The company posted a loss of US$56.1 million for 2012.
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