Mergers & Acquisitions

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…

Staples Inc. needs a Plan B as federal regulators move to block its merger with rival Office Depot Inc., analysts said Tuesday. But whatever that plan turns out to be, it won’t be as simple as pressing the big, red “Easy” button that once dominated Staples’ advertising. Staples’ next step — assuming its challenge to…

Carl C. Icahn, unhappy with Pep Boys’ decision to sell itself to Bridgestone, the tire company, is fighting back with his own takeover offer. Mr. Icahn, the billionaire investor, disclosed on Monday that he had offered to buy Pep Boys, the car parts retailer, for $15.50 a share in cash, topping the $15 a share…

The Federal Trade Commission has taken the first step toward blocking the proposed $6.3 billion merger of Staples and Office Depot, saying the deal would hurt competition in the market for office supplies sold to large corporations. The commission filed an administrative complaint charging that the merger between Massachusetts-based Staples, the world's largest seller of…

Keurig Green Mountain Inc. will be acquired by a JAB Holding Co.-led investor group for about $13.9 billion in cash, bringing a massive windfall to shareholders after a year of watching the stock get battered. Keurig, a maker of single-serve coffee brewers, will be privately owned and independently operated following the buyout, according to a…

Staples Inc. is ready to offer additional concessions to resolve U.S. antitrust concerns that its proposed takeover of Office Depot Inc. — which would leave one national office-supply chain — would threaten competition, according to two people familiar with the matter. Representatives from Staples and Office Depot are meeting this week with Federal Trade Commission…

Mattress Firm has agreed to acquire a competing chain, Sleepy's, in a $780 million deal that would give the Houston-based company access to new territory in the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast while combining the nation's two biggest specialty mattress retailers. Company officials said the acquisition would make Mattress Firm the first truly national coast-to-coast retailer…