Canadian retailer Hudson's Bay Company confirmed Thursday having received an "incomplete, non-binding and unsolicited offer" from Austria's Signa to buy its German department stores Kaufhof.

HBC, which also owns Saks Fifth Avenue department stores, said in a statement that it had received the offer, which had first been disclosed in the German media.

Reports said Signa had offered three billion euros (US$3.5 billion) for Kaufhof, but HBC pointed out that there was "no evidence of financing" in the bid.

"Consistent with its fiduciary responsibility, the board intends to review the offer in due course, and cautions that the offer is subject to many assumptions, conditions and contingencies," it said.

HBC had outbid Signa in 2015 to buy Kaufhof for more than 2.8 billion euros.

"As we've previously stated, our European business is an important element of the company's strategy," the company noted.

HBC said it had no further comment on the proposed deal.

source: AFP