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The May Department Stores Company to Acquire Marshall Field's Transaction Strengthens May's Position in Midwestern Metropolitan Areas ST. LOUIS, June 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The May Department Stores Company (NYSE:MAY) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Marshall Field's department store group and nine Mervyn's store locations in the Twin Cities area from Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) for a total consideration of $3.240 billion in cash, subject to adjustments. The transaction is expected to be completed in May's fiscal 2004 second or third quarter. Marshall Field's, which reported revenues of $2.58 billion and generated $107 million in segment earnings in fiscal 2003, has 62 stores primarily in the Chicago, Minneapolis and Detroit metropolitan areas. Locations include its world-famous flagship store on State Street in the Chicago Loop and important flagship stores in Detroit, Minneapolis, and suburban Chicago. With the addition of Marshall Field's, May will operate 500 department stores in 39 states. Under the terms of the agreement, May will acquire all the assets that comprise Marshall Field's, including stores, inventory, customer receivables, and distribution centers in Chicago, Detroit and Minneapolis. May is also acquiring the real estate associated with the nine Mervyn's stores. Gene Kahn, May's chairman and chief executive officer, said, "We are delighted to welcome this venerable and nationally recognized, premier department store company as a division of May and to welcome the Marshall Field's associates to our company. This unique opportunity to add to our department store portfolio will provide a great value to our shareowners. It will allow us to combine the best of Marshall Field's and May to further expand and enhance the products and services we can provide to our customers. Among the benefits we see is that this combination will produce excellent economies of scale, improved buying power, and an expanded distribution network." After completion of the acquisition and its integration into May, the company expects to realize pre-tax synergies of $85 million in fiscal year 2005, $140 million in fiscal year 2006, and $180 million per year thereafter. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to earnings per share in fiscal year 2005 and beyond. May will retain the Marshall Field's nameplate and operate it as one of the stand-alone department store divisions under the May umbrella. May also intends to maintain the product exclusives -- such as Frango mints -- that are long-standing traditions at Marshall Field's. Linda L. Ahlers will remain as president of Marshall Field's, and headquarters for the division will remain in Minneapolis. May will offer employment to all Marshall Field's associates. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including Hart-Scott-Rodino approval under the United States antitrust laws. The transaction does not require shareowner approvals for either May or Target. The May Department Stores Company currently operates 438 department stores under the names of Lord & Taylor, Famous-Barr, Filene's, Foley's, Hecht's, Kaufmann's, L.S. Ayres, Meier & Frank, Robinsons-May, Strawbridge's, and The Jones Store, as well as 217 David's Bridal stores, 456 After Hours Formalwear stores, and 10 Priscilla of Boston stores in its Bridal Group. May operates in 46 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. For more information contact Sharon Bateman at (314) 342-6494. This announcement may contain, in addition to historical information, certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated as a result of a number of factors, including risks and uncertainties discussed in The May Department Stores Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Those factors include, among other things, the competitive environment in the retailing industry in general and in the specific market areas in which May and its divisions operate, including consumer confidence, changes in discretionary consumer spending, changes in costs of goods and services and economic conditions in general, unseasonable weather and those risks generally associated with the integration of Marshall Field's with May. There can be no assurance that the acquisition will close, as to the timing of the closing, that the integration will be successful or without unanticipated costs or that anticipated synergies or other benefits will be realized. The May Department Stores Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events or developments. To view a map showing May and Marshall Field's department store locations across the country, please see http://www.mayco.com/common/0609files.jsp. Note: A live Webcast of a conference call with analysts can be accessed through May's Web site, beginning at 8:30 a.m. EDT, June 10, 2004. Pre-registration is required. Marshall Field's Stores acquired by The May Department Stores Company: MARKET LOCATION STORE ILLINOIS Chicago Aurora Fox Valley Center Bloomingdale Stratford Square Chicago, Illinois State Street Calumet City River Oaks Center Chicago Water Tower Joliet Louis Joliet Mall Lake Forest Market Square Northbrook Northbrook Court Oak Brook Oakbrook Center Mall Oak Brook Oakbrook Center Furniture Orland Park Orland Square Schaumburg Woodfield Mall Schaumburg Woodfield Mall Home Skokie Old Orchard 3 Chicago cont. Vernon Hills Hawthorn Center West Dundee Spring Hill Mall Rockford Rockford, Illinois Cherryvale Mall INDIANA Fort Wayne Fort Wayne Glenbrook Square South Bend Mishawaka University Park Mall MICHIGAN Detroit Ann Arbor Briarwood Dearborn Fairlane Town Center Fort Gratiot Birchwood Mall Harper Woods Eastland Center Novi Twelve Oaks Mall Southfield Northland Shopping Center Sterling Heights Lakeside Mall Taylor Southland Center Troy Oakland Mall Troy The Somerset Collection Waterford Summit Place Mall Westland Westland Center Flint Flint Genesee Valley Shopping Center Grand Rapids Grandville Rivertown Crossings Kentwood Woodland Mall Kalamazoo Battle Creek Lakeview Square Mall Portage The Crossroads Lansing Lansing Lansing Mall Okemos Meriden Mall Saginaw Saginaw Fashion Square Mall Traverse City Traverse City Grand Traverse Mall MINNESOTA Minneapolis-St. Paul Brooklyn Center Brookdale Shopping Center Burnsville Burnsville Center Edina Southdale Edina Southdale Home Maplewood Maplewood Mall Minnetonka Ridgedale Mall Roseville Rosedale Center Roseville Rosedale Center Home St. Paul Downtown Rochester Rochester Apache Mall St. Cloud St. Cloud Crossroads Center NORTH DAKOTA Bismark Bismark Kirkwood Mall Fargo Fargo West Acres Shopping Center Grand Rapids Grand Forks Columbia Mall 4 OHIO Toledo Toledo Franklin Park Mall SOUTH DAKOTA Sioux Falls The Empire Mall WISCONSIN Appleton Appleton Fox River Mall Eau Claire Eau Claire Oakwood Mall La Crosse La Crosse Valley View Mall Madison Madison Hilldale Milwaukee Wauwatosa Mayfair Mall MERVYN'S LOCATION MARKET LOCATION STORE MINNESOTA Minneapolis St. Paul Brookdale Shopping Center Eden Prairie Center Maplewood Mall Midway Center Northtown Mall Rosedale Shopping Center Southdale Shopping Center Tamarack Village DATASOURCE: May Department Stores Company CONTACT: Sharon Bateman, +1-314-342-6494, for May Department Stores Company Web site: http://www.mayco.com/common/0609files.jsp

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