Ex-Best Buy Chairman Looking To Take Company Private?

Richard Schulze is "talking to people he trusts" regarding taking over the company, J.D. Wilson, Best Buy's senior vice president of enterprise capabilities, told Bloomberg.

Schulze resigned in May after an internal inquiry found that he failed to act appropriately when he learned that former CEO Brian Dunn had a relationship with a female employee.

Former Best Buy CEO Brad Anderson is among the people to whom Schulze is turning, according to Bloomberg.

A Best Buy spokesperson said the company can't comment on any conversations taking place. "What I can say is that we're talking to senior people literally every day about joining Best Buy and being part of our future. Those are conversations leading to job offers being made and accepted," the spokesperson said.

Best Buy has struggled this year: Dunn resigned in April amid the inquiry into his behavior, and the company announced in March it would close 50 stores and lay off 400 employees in cost-cutting measures.

Through this struggle, Best Buy's managed services business, mindShift, continues its expansion plans. MindShift, acquired by Best Buy in late 2011, said last week it is opening a new Chicago location and would expand with new operations in Phoenix, Atlanta and Los Angeles by the end of the year.

MindShift CEO Paul Chisholm said in June that Best Buy allows the MSP to operate independently as a separate subsidiary with its own growth strategy. "From a day-to-day point of view, mindShift controls its own destiny," Chisholm said in June.

Best Buy shares were trading at $17.99 Monday afternoon, up 23 cents or 1.3 percent.

PUBLISHED JULY 30, 2012

This story was updated at 3:25 p.m. PST to add Best Buy's spokesperson's comments regarding the company going private.