Best Buy Co. co-founder Richard Schulze said Monday that he wants to take the electronics seller private by buying up all of its shares he doesn't already own in an offer that values the company at as much as $8.84 billion.
Here's a chronology of the turbulent year at Best Buy that led up to the offer:
Jan. 6: Best Buy says weaker-than-expected traffic until the week before Christmas and low demand in Canada and Europe put a crimp in a key December sales figure, which fell 1.2 percent during what should be the company's busiest month of the year.
March 29: The Minneapolis retailer posts a loss for the fourth quarter and fiscal year, partly due to restructuring charges. It also unveils a restructuring plan involving closing 50 big-box stores while opening 100 smaller mobile stores, cut 400 corporate jobs and save $800 million by fiscal 2015.
April 10: CEO Brian Dunn abruptly resigns and Best Buy says it is investigating his relationship with a female staffer. Board member Mike Mikan is named interim CEO. Shares fall 6 percent in one day.
April 20: Best Buy names a committee to carry out its CEO search, says Mikan is one of those in the running for the permanent job.
May 3: Best Buy says its Chief Marketing Officer Barry Judge has left the company but doesn't say why.
May 14: CEO Richard Schulze resigns as chairman after Best Buy's investigation finds he knew about Dunn's inappropriate relationship with a female staffer and did not alert the proper people. At the time, Schulze becomes chairman emeritus and says he will serve out his director term through June 13.
May 22: Best Buy says its first-quarter profit dropped 26 percent on restructuring charges, but results top Wall Street expectations. Mikan makes a strong impression on investors during the earnings call by calling for major change.
June 7: Founder Schulze says he is resigning from the board earlier than expected and exploring options for his 20 percent stake in the company.
June 21: Best Buy ups its dividend by a penny and holds its annual meeting. Mikan again says the company is ready for major change to keep up with the changing electronics retail landscape. There is no update on the company's CEO search or cost-cutting plan.
July 6: Best Buy Co. says it will lay off 600 staffers in its Geek Squad technical support division and 1,800 other store workers as it seeks to restructure operations and improve results.
Aug. 6: Schulze makes public that he would take the company private for between $24 and $26 per share with the help of outside investors.