Mergers & Acquisitions

Reports emerged late last week that Kroger is mulling a takeover of Whole Foods Market. Published reports said Kroger was considering a $40 per share bid for Whole Foods — an offer that would equal a $13 billion takeover. Officials from Kroger, however, declined to discuss "rumors and speculation" regarding a potential deal. Whole Foods…

Sadly, just a little over a year after closing FAO Schwarz's iconic flagship store in New York City, Toys"R"Us is selling off the brand. Toys"R"Us has owned the FAO brand for a little over seven years, and just sold the brand to ThreeSixty Group, a company that designs and distributes toys and other consumer products.…

Bass Pro Shops has reached a deal to acquire outdoors retail competitor Cabela's in a deal valued at $5.5 billion, the companies said in a statement Monday. The deal comes about 10 months after Cabela's put itself up for sale at the urging of hedge fund Elliott Management, which had declared the hunting-and-fishing retailer undervalued and called for the…

Tractor Supply Co., the largest rural lifestyle retail store chain in the U.S., announced that it has acquired Petsense, a specialty retailer of pet supplies and services with 136 stores in 25 states. The transaction price was approximately $116 million. Petsense will operate as a subsidiary of Tractor Supply from Petsense's current Scottsdale, Arizona headquarters,…

American Apparel has hired a new CEO — a lawyer with a background in mergers and acquisitions. Chelsea Grayson has served as general counsel for American Apparel for almost two years. She will now be the top executive when Paula Schneider, the CEO brought aboard last year to turn around the company’s fortunes, vacates the position on…

Office Depot agreed to sell its European business to the Aurelius Group, helping sharpen its focus on the North American market after its failed merger with Staples. The deal will be structured as an equity sale for “nominal consideration,” Boca Raton, Florida-based Office Depot said Friday in a statement. The European unit has annual revenue of…

Jessica Alba’s Honest Company is reportedly in talks to be acquired by Unilever. The Honest Company sells environmentally friendly and organic packaged goods, while Unilever makes Dove soaps and Axe body sprays, among other products. The deal is reportedly valued at more than $1 billion, but below the $1.7 billion valuation the Honest Company achieved…

U.S. antitrust regulators let Walgreens Boots Alliance know it will have to close up to 1,000 retail stores if its acquisition of Rite Aid will be approved. Despite this, Walgreens still expects the deal to close in the second half of this year. Walgreens currently has 8,200 U.S. stores and Rite Aid has 4,500. Even…

Camuto Group has acquired Sole Society, a shoe and apparel online retailer. The move is part of Camuto Group’s digital commerce expansion and strategy of enhancing category offerings and continuing to build on its strong accessories platform through extensions in apparel and other key classifications. The acquisition also expands Camuto Group’s reach — Sole Society merchandise…

Talk about a deal! One Kings Lane, an online furnishings retailer, sold for less than $30 million to Bed Bath & Beyond, according to Recode. The purchase price represents a huge discount from One Kings Lane's valuation of $900 million just two years ago, when it raised over $100 million from investors. However, the sale…