Bed Bath & Beyond Purchase Means $59.5 Million Payday for Warren Stephens

Bed Bath & Beyond’s acquisition of Cost Plus Inc., announced Wednesday, represents a big payday for Warren Stephens of Little Rock.

Stephens’ Stephens Investments Holdings LLC is the second-largest shareholder in Cost Plus of Oakland, Calif. At the purchase price of $22 a share, Stephens’ 2.7 million shares of the furniture and home decor retailer are worth $59.5 million.

"It’s been a terrific investment,"Stephens told ArkansasBusiness.com on Thursday.

The investment in Cost Plus, he said, was recommended by the same friend, Fred Roberts, who also led Stephens to another successful investment in another California company, Power-One Inc.

Cost Plus stock (Nasdaq:%%CPWM%%) was trading at less than $2 a share in late 2008, when Stephens informed the Securities & Exchange Commission that Stephens Investments Holdings had become a major shareholder.

Last August, when Arkansas Business compiled its most recent list of the state’s top stockholders, Stephens’ stake in Cost Plus was worth only $19.5 million at $7.20 a share.

Cost Plus Inc. had revenue of just under $1 billion in 2011. Bed Bath & Beyond of Union, N.J., operates almost 1,200 stores and had revenue of $9.5 billion last year.