Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) — Best Buy Co. founder Richard Schulze may be offering the best option for shareholders, even as traders question his ability to finance the fourth-largest U.S. retail takeover in history.

Schulze, who remains the electronics chain's largest investor after stepping down as chairman in June, sent a letter to the board yesterday with an acquisition proposal of $24 to $26 a share, valuing Best Buy at as much as $9.5 billion including net debt. Even at an earnings multiple that's the cheapest on record in the U.S. industry, the bid is as much as 40 percent higher than the stock's 20-day price, topping the group average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

While Best Buy is trading 17 percent below the low end of the offer because Schulze didn't name private-equity partners and doesn't yet have committed financing, the 71-year-old says Minnesota law requires he get the board's permission to form a bidding group with buyout firms and executives. If Credit Suisse Group AG's confidence in raising debt leads to full financing, the deal could provide a 14 percent bigger gain for shareholders than analysts project Best Buy will generate on its own in the next year as it struggles to compete with online retailers.