Mergers & Acquisitions

Apple, the company that turned digital music into a mainstream phenomenon, said on Wednesday that it was buying Beats Electronics, a rising music brand, for $3 billion, in a move that will help it play catch-up with rivals that offer subscription-based music services. Apple and Beats executives said the companies would work together to give consumers around the world more options to listen to music. The Beats brand will remain separate from Apple's, and Apple will offer both Beats’ streaming music service and premium headphones.

Signet's $1.4 billion acquisition of the Zale Corporation looks increasingly beleaguered in the wake of opposition by the investment group TIG Advisors, Zale's second-largest shareholder. Opposing a takeover as being underpriced is nothing new. But what's surprising is that Zale's financial adviser, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, has given an unexpected assist to the deal's opponents by failing to disclose to Zale's board a potential conflict of interest. In February, Signet Jewelers, which owns the Kay and Jared jewelry-store chains, announced that it had reached a deal to buy Zale for $21 a share, or $1.4 billion. 

Alibaba is taking a tougher line against counterfeit items sold on its online marketplaces as the Chinese e-commerce giant heads towards a U.S. stock listing that could be the world's biggest technology company IPO. Some security experts say the Chinese group's stricter standards on piracy and fake goods may even surpass those of Amazon.com and eBay. In its IPO filing last week, Alibaba Group Holding said the perception that its sites are cluttered with counterfeit items could hurt its ability to win over customers, investors and U.S. retail partners. 

TIG Advisors does not want Zales to go to Jared. That's the jist of a 35-page report that TIG filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission Friday afternoon and in which the New York-based investment firm revealed a 9.5 percent stake in the Zale Corporation, saying that it intends to vote against the Zale's proposed merger with Signet Jewelers , the parent company

Apple is reportedly in talks to buy red-hot headphone maker and streaming-music pioneer Beats Electronics. If the deal happens, it would be Apple's biggest ever. The Financial Times and other outlets on Thursday quoted unnamed sources saying Apple would pay $3.2 billion for the Santa Monica, Calif.-based company founded by legendary music producer Jimmy Iovine and hip-hop star Dr. Dre. Described in the Financial Times only as "people familiar with the negotiations," the sources said the deal could be wrapped up as early as next week, though they warned that negotiations could still falter. 

After all, eBay was born almost 20 years ago with a business philosophy based around people digging up stuff from grandma's attic, putting it up for auction online, and letting consumers bid. Sometimes, this drove up the price for something, but usually it left the auction winner feeling as if he or she had gotten a good deal on the bounty. So it should probably not come as a surprise that a company based on acquisition transactions would be looking to do some itself.

Bedding retailer Mattress Firm has agreed to acquire Mattress Liquidators Inc., which operates stores under the Mattress King name in Colorado and the BedMart name in Arizona. The $35 million purchase will add about 75 stores to Mattress Firm’s stable of company-owned stores, and will boost the retailer’s presence in the key markets of Denver, Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz.

Etsy is acquiring Grand St., a curated marketplace that connects independent hardware makers with buyers. It's a sort of Quirky-Kickstarter-Etsy mashup that according to Etsy CEO Chad Dickerson shares Etsy's vision "the way making is changing." Co-founders Amanda Peyton, Joe Lallouz and Aaron Henshaw will join Etsy, but will continue to operate the Grand St. marketplace in the near term. Visitors to Grand St. have three options for getting their hands on the hardware under development by indie designer/sellers: preorder an item under development; beta test an item; or purchase goods that have made it to market.

If you have any doubts, just wake up and think about it. It's a win-win for both Jeff "Get Big Fast" Bezos and Eddie "Take the Money and Run" Lampert. Amazon.com gets roughly 2,400 U.S. stores (or "buildings") overnight (1,300 Sears, 1,100 Kmart). The acquisition becomes Bezos’ answer to omnichannel and the proven revenue synergy of consumers ability to shop online and offline; the convenience of proximity for pickup and returns; and facilitation of even greater delivery speed. So just as Walmart's 4,500 stores double as distribution centers, so would Amazon's acquired Sears/Kmart stores.

Wesley Card, the CEO of Jones Group, is to step down from his role as part of plans by Sycamore Partners to split the newly acquired company into four independent firms. Earlier this month, Jones Group shareholders overwhelmingly voted to approve the acquisition of the U.S. clothing and footwear company by private equity firm Sycamore Partners in a deal worth $2.2 billion. As a result, Sycamore has set out four plans for the businesses within the Jones Group, which it says will operate independently going forward.