Money | Best Buy Best Buy Founder Makes Offer to Buy ... Best Buy Richard Schulze offers $24 to $26 a share By Kate Seamons Posted Aug 6, 2012 8:16 AM CDT Copied This Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2001, file photo, shows Richard Schulze following a news conference in Vancouver. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Chuck Stoody) Best Buy founder Richard Schulze wants back in. Schulze, who stepped down as chairman in June after news of ex-CEO Brian Dunn's affair broke, today offered to take the struggling company private at $24 to $26 a share, reports Bloomberg. That values the company at around $8.5 billion, which is 36% more than Friday's closing price. He made the offer in a letter sent to the company's board, in which he writes that reviewing the options he has for his 20.1% ownership stake "reinforced my belief that bold and extensive changes are needed for Best Buy to return to market leadership." The 71-year-old now needs the board's OK to conduct due diligence and assemble a bidding group comprised of execs and private-equity funds that could present a full offer. Bloomberg reports that Schulze has been unsuccessfully lobbying the board for those exact permissions in recent weeks; a source says the board asked for more time to ponder the matter, as it was still looking for a CEO and felt it wasn't the best time to go private. Shares were up 22% to $21.52 in early trading at 9:15am ET. Read These Next Rubio says the fate of Iran's conversion facility is what matters. Her blood isn't compatible with anyone else's. Some of the most explosive Diddy allegations are dropped. Sienna proves herself to be a very, very good dog. Report an error