Nordstrom has taken a huge step in reshaping its future in an increasingly competitive retail landscape by announcing plans to go private.

The Seattle-based luxury department store has agreed to be acquired by Mexican retailer El Puerto de Liverpool for $6.25 billion in an all-cash transaction. The great grandsons of company founder John Nordstrom — Erik, Pete, and Jamie Nordstrom, the company’s top officers — will have a majority ownership stake.

“For over a century, Nordstrom has operated with a foundational principle of helping customers feel good and look their best,” Chief Executive Officer Erik Nordstrom says. “Today marks an exciting new chapter for the business. On behalf of my family, we look forward to working with our teams to ensure Nordstrom thrives long into the future.”

Under terms of the agreement, Nordstrom common shareholders will receive $24.25 in cash for each share of Nordstrom common stock they hold. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2025.

El Puerto Liverpool was founded in 1847. It operates 310 stores under the Liverpool and Suburbia banners, 119 specialized boutiques and 29 shopping centers.

Like other department stores, Nordstrom has struggled in recent years, and has been particularly focused on growing its off-price Rack business, opening about two dozen stores this year. The company beat Wall Street expectations in its recent third quarter earnings report, but also cited a slowdown in the first couple weeks of the fourth quarter as the holiday shopping season kicked off, calling the environment “uncertain.”

Nordstrom first tried to go private seven years ago, but financing fell through. It formed a special committee earlier this year to evaluate taking the company private. A retail analyst told Seattle magazine last September that “nothing should really change” for shoppers if the company was no longer publicly traded, but also said the company would likely make some operational changes.

Analysts also say privatization could lead to more robust digital platforms, customer personalization, and in-store experiences, adding that the move allows the company to pivot more nimbly in response to market trends.

Nordstrom was founded as a shoe store in downtown Seattle in 1901. It now operates more than 350 full-line department stores and Rack locations.