Mergers & Acquisitions

Qurate Retail Group (QRG) announced several initiatives designed to better position its HSN and QVC U.S. businesses for long-term growth. Most important is the formation of an integrated business unit called QXH, which Qurate said will ensure an aligned approach to the U.S. market. As part of the transformation, Qurate will eliminate 350 positions by the…

Walmart announced last week that it has acquired lingerie and sleepwear retailer Bare Necessities for an undisclosed amount. Bare Necessities will join the Walmart U.S. e-commerce portfolio. Founded in 1998, Bare Necessities offers more than 100,000 SKUs from more than 160 brands, including an extensive assortment of bras, swimwear, shapewear and sleepwear. Intimates is a category that…

DSW Inc. announced on Wednesday that it has acquired the operations of Camuto Group, a footwear and accessory designer and developer responsible for the Vince Camuto brand and the footwear licenses for Jessica Simpson and Lucky Brand. In addition, DSW is teaming with brand development, marketing and entertainment company Authentic Brands Group (ABG) to acquire several intellectual…

Walmart announced yesterday that it's acquiring digital-native plus-size clothing brand ELOQUII for an undisclosed amount. TechCrunch reports the all-cash deal includes ELOQUII CEO Mariah Chase, her executive team and its 100 employees, who will continue to be based in Long Island City, NY and Columbus, OH. They’ll join Walmart’s U.S. e-commerce organization, reporting to Andy Dunn,…

Walmart's success doesn't depend on earnings, but rather the story it tells. Amazon.com's revenue climbed since 1998, while net income stayed flat (per FactSet and Recode — see chart below), and Amazon stock rose 1500 percent in that time period. Walmart … welcome to the technology ball. The biggest earnings quarter to watch for Walmart…

Fashion brand Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. is close to a deal to buy Italian fashion house Gianni Versace SpA for around $2.35 billion, people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday. The move would put one of the glitziest names in high fashion in the hands of a budding U.S. conglomerate better known for affordable luxury.…

Wedding retailer David’s Bridal has acquired Blueprint Registry, a Seattle startup that aims to simplify the gift registry process. In a press release, David’s Bridal called the deal an asset acquisition, though all 13 of Blueprint Registry’s employees will remain on board. Blueprint Registry Co-Founder Nevin Shetty told GeekWire that the company will remain independent, but it will…

Best Buy announced last week that it will pay $800 million to acquire GreatCall, a company that offers health and medical-alert services to 900,000 older Americans. GreatCall offers seniors several products, including portable medical-alert devices and easy-to-use mobile phones, that provide access to urgent-response teams, doctors and nurses, as well as offer reminders to take medications. The acquisition…

Albertsons Companies and Rite Aid Corp. announced on Wednesday that they are calling off their merger agreement. The $24 billion deal, announced in February, has faced opposition from a number of investors as well as top-10 shareholder Highfields Capital Management. Critics have argued the deal provides Albertsons’ private-equity owner, Cerberus Capital Management, a vehicle to…

U.S. grocery retailer Supervalu will sell itself to United Natural Foods in a $2.9 billion deal that includes debt, it said on Thursday, after coming under pressure from some shareholders to explore a sale. United Natural Foods, a distributor of natural and organic foods, offered Supervalu shareholders $32.50 per share in cash, a 67 percent premium…