Mergers & Acquisitions

Pep Boys agreed to a $947 million takeover offer from Bridgestone Corp., shunning a competing bid from billionaire investor Carl Icahn that had promised a higher price. Pep Boys said Thursday in a statement that its board no longer considers Icahn’s most recent offer -- which included a vow to beat any bid up to $1.01…

Staples offered to give up $1.25 billion in commercial contracts to acquire Office Depot, but federal regulators have rejected it, the company said Monday. The Federal Trade Commission, which is suing to stop the $6.3 billion merger, declined comment on Staples’ claim. Staples said it will continue its court fight to acquire its competitor headquartered…

Pep Boys, a U.S. auto parts retailer, said billionaire investor Carl Icahn raised his offer for the company, topping Bridgestone Corp's bid by $1.00 a share, to value the company at about $900 million. Pep Boy's shares rose as much as 6.6 percent to $16.80, touching a more than eight-year high. Pep Boys said on Monday its…

Avon Products said on Thursday it had agreed to sell 80.1 percent of its North America business to private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management for $170 million. New York-based Cerberus will also invest $435 million for a 16.6 percent stake in the direct-seller of cosmetics in a deal that values Avon at about $2.5 billion.…

Whole Foods Market Inc. said don’t listen to rumors that the company is looking for a buyer. “Recent rumor and speculation regarding the possibility of Whole Foods Market going private are exactly that – just rumor and speculation,” Spokesperson Michael Silverman told MarketWatch. Co-founder and co-chief executive officer John Mackey also responded to the chatter…

Fashion e-commerce site Gilt, once valued at $1 billion, is in advanced talks to be acquired by Saks Fifth Avenue’s parent Hudson’s Bay Company for $250 million, according to The Wall Street Journal. Gilt, which operates limited-time sales of designer clothes, accessories and home goods, has been struggling to maintain its once red-hot growth. Earlier…

Destination Maternity Corp. has rejected a French suitor, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Monday. Shares of Destination Maternity, which makes maternity wear, shot up 17 percent at the start of trading Monday on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, but soon settled down to about the same level as its Friday close of $9.…

lululemon athletica founder Chip Wilson, who split from the company over strategy disagreements, said he once considered acquiring Under Armour, a deal that would have combined two of the biggest brands in athletic apparel. “Three years ago, when I was chairman and lululemon was worth twice as much as Under Armour, I personally was thinking…

Bridgestone Corp. increased its offer for auto parts retailer Pep Boys, the companies announced late Friday afternoon, matching the price offered by activist investor Carl Icahn. Pep Boys had agreed to sell itself to Bridgestone for $15 a share in October, but those plans were thrown into turmoil earlier, thanks to Icahn. The investor’s Icahn…

Newell Rubbermaid said Monday that it had reached a deal to acquire Jarden Corp., maker of Crock-Pots, Sunbeam, Rawlings, Coleman and other consumer goods, for $15.4 billion, or $13.2 billion when excluding convertible debt. The Rubbermaid brand manufacturer, which also makes Sharpie, Paper Mate and Irwin products, is buying Jarden for a combination of cash…