Mergers & Acquisitions
April 20, 2017 at 12:35 pm
The Walgreens-Rite Aid merger is increasingly looking like it may be blocked by the Federal Trade Commission. Capitol Forum, a trade publication, reported that the FTC was considering a lawsuit. Bloomberg reports the time line to complete the deal has been extended until July 31, as antitrust regulators review it. Walgreens CEO Stefano Pessina said in an April 5…
April 19, 2017 at 9:14 am
In the biggest e-commerce acquisition in history, PetSmart has agreed to purchase pet food and product site Chewy.com for $3.35 billion. Chewy.com has been one of the fastest-growing e-commerce sites, registering nearly $900 million in revenue last year — only its fifth in operation. This deal is bigger than Wal-Mart’s acquisition of Jet.com for $3.3…
April 18, 2017 at 10:38 am
Amazon.com is interested in buying BJ’s Wholesale Club, which is currently up for sale, according to the New York Post. BJ’s, which operates 210 club stores in 15 states along the eastern seaboard from Maine to Florida, is already interviewing bankers so it can be begin a sale process. Meanwhile, Amazon — which has been…
April 17, 2017 at 10:48 am
Wal-Mart’s acquisition streak under new e-commerce chief Marc Lore looks likely to continue. The world’s largest brick-and-mortar retailer is in advanced discussions to acquire Bonobos, a 10-year-old men’s fashion retailer based in New York City. Sources say the two sides have agreed on a price — which couldn’t immediately be learned — and that the deal…
April 12, 2017 at 10:10 am
Supervalu Inc. has agreed to pay $375 million to acquire Unified Grocers, a Los Angeles-area food distributor. The deal intensifies Supervalu’s focus on its wholesale business. Supervalu said it will pay $114 million in cash for all outstanding shares of Unified, a cooperative owned by member grocery firms, and assume about $261 million in debt. The…
April 10, 2017 at 11:36 am
eBags has agreed to be acquired by Samsonite International, the travel luggage maker that once employed most of eBags’ co-founders. Samsonite, which started in Denver and is now based in Hong Kong and Luxembourg, said it would pay $105 million for the Denver-based e-tailer of purses, suitcases and nearly any bag imaginable. The deal is…
April 6, 2017 at 11:40 am
Office supplies retailer Staples is in preliminary talks with a number of private equity firms for a potential sale. Reports say Staples started to look for buyers after its much anticipated merger with Office Depot fell through. Both companies faced heavy regulatory resistance over the proposed merger, which culminated in a federal judge blocking the deal. In…
April 5, 2017 at 11:05 am
Dollar General confirmed its plans on Monday to buy all 323 stores in 36 states from Dollar Express, the chain of former Family Dollar stores owned since late 2015 by the private equity firm Sycamore Partners. The Charlotte Observer reports that up to 2,700 part-time and full-time store employees of Dollar Express may be losing their…
April 5, 2017 at 9:48 am
Fanatics, which sells officially licensed sports merchandise and operates more than 300 online and offline stores, including the e-commerce businesses for Major League Baseball, NFL, NASCAR and many other professional sports leagues, has acquired Majestic, a VF Corporation brand that has become synonymous with the production of MLB uniforms. The transaction is expected to close in…
April 4, 2017 at 11:27 am
Last week, Amazon.com announced that it's shutting down its Quidsi subsidiary because it isn’t able to turn a profit. However, some employees believe there are alternative reasons for Quidsi's closure. In a meeting in late 2016, Amazon and Quidsi execs told employees they were confident that Quidsi would turn a profit and generate significant cash…
