Mergers & Acquisitions

The low-price retailer war is heating up: Dollar General made an all-cash bid of nearly $10 billion for Family Dollar, topping a deal Dollar Tree made last month. Dollar General is bidding $78.50 per Family Dollar share, to total $9.7 billion. Dollar General said the deal is superior to the $74.50 per share cash and stock offer Dollar Tree made last month. That deal has been valued at $8.5 billion. A Dollar General spokeswoman declined to comment on whether the board responded to the offer.

E-commerce brand Fab.com has been in sale discussions with various interested parties, as CEO Jason Goldberg revealed. Industry experts have predicted that the flash-sale company will sell for between $100 million to $150 million, which is a large decrease from the $1 billion valuation Fab.com was given last June. 

In the days since Nordstrom officially confirmed its acquisition of Trunk Club, I've had a surprising number of people ask me if I think the deal "makes sense." Many of them, even if willing to acknowledge the synergies between the two companies, balk at the reported $350 million price. The skeptic's case goes as follows: Trunk Club is hardly a novel or proprietary concept and Nordstrom could easily duplicate the experience using its own brand and infrastructure. Moreover, the men's apparel category is far smaller than the women's and doesn't merit such a big bet. 

FTD Companies Inc. will acquire the Provide Commerce floral and gifting business from Liberty Interactive Corp. for $430 million in cash and stock. FTD will obtain Provide Commerce's e-commerce brands, including ProFlowers, Shari's Berries and Personal Creations. FTD says the efficiencies and resources created by this acquisition will allow it to further invest in new products, services and technology. The combination is expected to generate more than $25 million in annual synergies within 36 months of closing, with a goal of creating incremental value for FTD stockholders over time.

"Guys hate shopping," said Brian Spaly, the chief executive of Trunk Club, a shopping website for men, "but love to look good." As retailers have come up with new ways to target men, Nordstrom has been riding the wave. It plans to announce on Thursday that it's agreed to purchase Trunk Club, a five-year old website that sells about 100 brands of men's apparel, for an undisclosed amount. It's the latest sign that men aren't the only ones taking their sartorial habits seriously. 

The merging of retail and technology has led to the two sides poaching each other's talent. This commonly leads to companies gobbling up entire startups, as was demonstrated yesterday by Wal-Mart's tech team, @WalmartLabs, acquiring Luvocracy, a three-year-old firm and an online community of half-a-million members that allows consumers to discover and buy products recommended by other people, from their own friends and family to bloggers and other influencers. Sixteen Luvocracy employees are slated to join @WalmartLabs as part of the acquisition. Company spokesman Bao Nguyen told MarketWatch that Wal-Mart doesn't plan to integrate Luvocracy's technology into Walmart.com.

Dollar Tree is buying competitor Family Dollar in a cash-and-stock deal worth about $8.5 billion. The boards of both companies unanimously approved the merger, announced Monday. The transaction is valued at $74.50 a share. Dollar Tree CEO Bob Sasser called the deal a "transformational opportunity." "This acquisition will extend our reach to lower-income customers and strengthen and diversify our store footprint," he said. Family Dollar CEO Howard Levine will report to Sasser. Levine's company will continue to operate under the Family Dollar name. The combined company will have more than 13,000 stores and $18 billion in sales.

Herman Miller has agreed to acquire Design Within Reach (DWR), a retailer of authored modern design that had revenues of approximately $218 million in 2013. Scheduled to close July 28, 2014, the deal will result in Herman Miller's 84 percent ownership, estimated to equal $154 million in cash. Today, DWR is the largest and fastest-growing retailer of Zeeland, Michigan-based Herman Miller's furniture. Brian Walker, CEO, Herman Miller, said in a statement released by the company, "The addition of DWR is a transformational step forward in realizing our strategy for diversified growth and establishing Herman Miller as a premier lifestyle brand." 

Navarro Discount Pharmacy, the drugstore chain that's operated in Miami-Dade for more than 50 years, will be acquired by retail giant CVS Caremark. CVS, based in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, unveiled the definitive agreement to acquire Navarro after the stock markets closed Monday. Navarro, the country's largest Hispanic-owned drugstore chain, has annual sales of more than $340 million. Once the deal closes, the 33 stores will continue to operate under the Navarro Discount Pharmacy name, a well-known brand in South Florida that draws a loyal customer following, especially among Hispanics.

Nordstrom has invested in several digital-based startups, but it hasn't acquired many to date. That could change soon. The retailer has recently held acquisition talks with Trunk Club, an e-commerce company that offers a personal styling service for men, according to people familiar with the talks. Trunk Club customers consult with a stylist and then receive a mailing that contains an array of clothing options, such as jeans, shoes and blazers. Customers keep and pay for the items they want and mail the rest back for free.