Best Buy founder offers to buy co, take it private

"It's got a lot of obstacles to overcome before we see a final deal consummated," said Morningstar analyst R.J. Hottovy. He noted that Best Buy's board has to approve any offer before Schulze can line up private equity financing, as required by Minnesota law, and that is unlikely to happen at the offering price, he said. An offer of $30 would be more appropriate, according to his calculations.

Research firm NBG Productions analyst Brian Sozzi said a deal is possible, but the biggest hiccup will be finding private equity firms to help pay for it. He also thought a higher bid was likely.

"This is going to be a placemaker type bid just to get the ball rolling," he said.

Best Buy has been shrinking store size and focusing on its more-profitable products such as mobile phones. It's also trying to combat the so-called "showrooming" of its stores — when people browse at Best Buy but purchase electronics goods elsewhere, especially online.

In March, it announced a major restructuring that includes closing 50 stores, cutting 400 corporate jobs and trimming $800 million in costs.

Since Dunn's departure, interim CEO Mike Mikan has made strong statements about how he plans to restructure the company, focusing on services and revamping stores.

In early July, Best Buy said it would lay off 600 staffers in its Geek Squad technical support division and 1,800 other store workers.