Hat World parent rebuffs unsolicited buyout offer

Genesco Inc., the Nashville, Tenn., parent of Indianapolis-based Hat World, has rejected the $1.2 billion buyout offer extended by Foot Locker Inc. on Friday.

Genesco directors voted unanimously that the bid of $46 per share from the New York shoe retailer “is not in the best interests of the company’s shareholders,” the company announced this morning. Genesco stock closed at $49.98 per share April 20—well above the $43.41 close a day earlier.

Hat World was founded in Lafayette by former Foot Locker managers and quickly moved to Indianapolis. Genesco bought Hat World for $165 million in 2004.