Mergers & Acquisitions

U.S. antitrust officials examining Staples Inc.’s planned takeover of Office Depot Inc. are zeroing in on the sale of office supplies to large corporate customers, according to three people familiar with the matter. While consumers can pick up paper and pens anywhere, there are fewer suppliers that can serve companies that buy products in large quantities…

Montvale, N.J.-based Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P) received approval from the bankruptcy court Monday to sell prescription records and inventory from 12 supermarket pharmacies to the Rite Aid drugstore chain for approximately $8.1 million. The 12 supermarket pharmacies included in the sale are at 25 stores that A&P earmarked for immediate closings when it…

Charlotte, N.C.-based Belk Inc. has agreed to be purchased by New York-based private equity firm Sycamore Partners for $3 billion, including the company’s debt. The deal effectively ends local control of the 127-year-old company that began in downtown Monroe, N.C. and grew into the largest family-owned department store chain in the country. Belk said Monday…

The digital payments giant makes a move in this suddenly hot of e-commerce area. PayPal has bought mobile commerce startup Modest, marking the digital payment giant’s first acquisition since spinning out of eBay last month. Modest, which premiered publicly earlier this year, helps merchants create mobile apps for their stores. “Mobile commerce sucks, and we…

The owner of QVC is buying online flash-deal business Zulily in a cash-and-stock deal valued at approximately $2.32 billion. While Zulily's sales topped $1 billion last year, its growth has slowed and its shares have been in decline since February of last year. The per-share price paid by QVC is below the $22 Zulily got…

Yahoo announced via blog post that it will acquire social fashion and shopping startup Polyvore. The terms of the deal haven't been disclosed. “Polyvore is a leading social shopping site that enables its users across the globe to shop their favorite products, discover new inspiration and express their style. The acquisition will accelerate Yahoo’s digital content…

Amid a wave of store closings, a couple of mid-market apparel retailers have found new owners and are mapping out a turnaround strategy, banking on bucking the trend of shrinking fashion chains. Men’s clothing retailer Grafton Fraser Inc., which runs Tip Top Tailor, said Wednesday it has acquired 35 Jones New York women’s wear stores…

The TJX Companies today announced that it's signed a definitive agreement to purchase Trade Secret, an off-price retailer that operates 35 stores in Australia, from Gazal Corporation Limited  for a purchase price of (AUD) $80 million. The potential acquisition of Trade Secret provides TJX an opportunistic entry into Australia, where TJX currently operates one of…

Home Depot said Wednesday that it agreed to acquire Jacksonville, Fla.-based Interline Brands Inc., a national distributor and direct marketer of broad-line maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products, for $1.625 billion in cash, subject to customary adjustments. The acquisition has been approved by the shareholders of Interline. It is expected to be completed during The…

E-commerce giant eBay has acquired secondhand clothing seller startup Twice, Re/code reported Monday. Twice, one of Inc. Magazine’s 30 under 30 companies this year, allows sellers to ship a box of clean used clothes to the company. Twice offers a single price for the entire contents of the box and if the sellers accept, the…