Mergers & Acquisitions

Steinhoff International Holdings agreed to buy Mattress Firm Holding Corp. for about $2.4 billion, a deal that vaults the South African discount retailer into the U.S. market while creating the world's largest bedding giant. Steinhoff offered $64 a share in cash, more than double Friday's $29.74 closing price for Houston-based Mattress Firm. The acquisition of the…

Wal-Mart will acquire e-commerce startup Jet.com in a $3 billion cash deal. The move is expected to help Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer become a powerhouse online shopping destination. The $3.3 billion price tag represents the most ever paid for an e-commerce company. Wal-Mart said it expects to receive regulatory approval for the deal, which…

Michaels has purchased the rights to former competitor Hancock Fabrics' brand, patents and trademarks from U.S. Bankruptcy Court for $1.3 million. Michaels Stores Inc, which is based in Texas, bought the rights to Hancock's brand, patents and trademarks from U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware for $1.3 million. The deal also includes all the customer information Hancock had…

Children’s clothing company Hanna Andersson has been acquired by Connecticut-based private equity firm L Catterton. The terms of the deal aren't being disclosed, however, the firm said it plans to keep Hanna Andersson's management team, including CEO Adam Stone, who will continue to operate the business from its Portland, Maine headquarters. The children’s clothing retailer…

Office Depot announced it will need to close 300 more locations to put itself in a better position as a stand-alone company. The office supplies retailer closed 42 stores in the second quarter of this year as part of an earlier plan to close 400 locations. The newly announced closing of 300 stores is in…

Wal-Mart is reportedly in negotiations with Jet.com to acquire the online retailer. Sources say the acquisition cost could be more than $3 billion. Marc Lore, CEO of the year-old Jet.com and founder of Diapers.com, has drawn more than $500 million in financing capital from venture firms after the initial launch of the company resulted in…

Yesterday, Dollar Shave Club, a subscription-based retail startup built on the idea of inexpensive razors, was acquired by Unilever. The European consumer goods giant purchased Dollar Shave Club in an all-cash deal for around $1 billion (yes, you read that correctly), according to The New York Times. With the acquisition, Unilever — which own brands…

Ontario-based Pet Valu and Florida-based Pet Supermarket announced today that they've merged, creating the third largest pet specialty retailer in North America. The new business is named Pet Retail Brands and has more than 930 stores and generates about $1 billion in sales across the U.S. and Canada, according to a statement. Total Retail's Take:…

Walgreens is confident that its acquisition of Rite Aid will close by the end of this year, and CEO Stefano Pessina reports only about 500 stores would need to be sold to address regulator’s antitrust concerns. Analysts first predicted that anywhere from 1,000 to 3,000 stores would need to sell to satisfy the Federal Trade…

Back in January, TWICE reported that an outside investor had acquired struggling electronics retailer Circuit City, causing a lot of excitement in the retail sector. Data Vision, the brand that acquired Circuit City from IT supplier Systemax, promised to breathe new life into the business and open anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 stores by June…