Mergers & Acquisitions

Activist investor Carl Icahn said Thursday that he wants to see Family Dollar sold at once, and he told the retailer that he's prepared to seek shareholder support to fire the entire board of directors if he doesn't get his way. Icahn said in a letter to Family Dollar CEO Howard Levine that he wants three seats on the board of directors, which would comprise a new committee tasked with exploring a sale of the company. The letter said Icahn discussed Family Dollar over dinner with Levine on Wednesday night. The two didn't come to any agreement.

Struggling e-commerce site Fab has gone shopping. The once high-flying company, which has recently suffered a series of pitfalls including a round of layoffs last month, announced Wednesday that it's buying One Nordic Furniture Co., a retailer known as the "luxury Ikea" with operations in Finland and Sweden. The deal is the next step in chief executive Jason Goldberg's strategy to design, market and sell private-label goods rather than rely on the products of other brands. 

Wal-Mart has acquired Stylr, the 13th tech move in three years as the retailer works to build infrastructure to support the next generation of retail. The deal was announced on Monday. "As we continue to integrate digital and physical retail to create new and unique experiences for customers, we're thrilled to add Stylr to our mobile team. Over half of Wal-Mart smartphone users have used their device in-store to assist with their shopping, and with 80 percent of our customers under the age of 35 owning a smartphone, we expect this to grow dramatically."

eBay announced plans to acquire AppTek to help it translate its 650 million individual listings into multiple languages as the company pursues its cross-border strategy. Global expansion is a key priority for eBay, which said 20 percent of its transactions occur across borders, and one of every three new users to eBay comes through a cross-border transaction — a disproportionate share of those new users coming from BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) and emerging markets.

The Michaels Companies, owner of the eponymous arts-and-crafts retail chain Michaels as well as framing chain Aaron Brothers, said in a filing Monday that it plans to return to the market sometime this year, and in doing so, will raise a half-a-billion dollars. In an updated SEC filing, the nation's largest seller of arts-and-crafts goods said that it plans to raise $500 million by offering 27.8 million shares at a price range of $17 to $19. 

Sycamore Partners, a private-equity firm that focuses on retail investments, said it's interested in acquiring the struggling clothing chain Express after amassing a 9.9 percent stake in the company. In a letter to Express’ board, Sycamore said it would like to perform due diligence to determine a price for the retailer. The investment firm said it would submit a bid within 30 days of getting access to Express’ books. Shares of the clothing chain, which had a $1.14 billion valuation at the close of trading today, surged as much as 33 percent after hours.

Family Dollar has adopted a "poison pill" that could repel any potential hostile takeover attempt by activist investor Carl Icahn. But some analysts say a sale, merger or executive shakeup at the company looks increasingly likely. Icahn said Friday that he has bought 9.4 percent of the company. That means that more than 22 percent of the company's shares are controlled by activist investors, including John Paulson's hedge fund and Nelson Peltz, who tried to buy the company in 2011. 

Vitamin Shoppe Inc., a multichannel specialty retailer of nutritional products, announced Monday that it's purchased FDC Vitamins LLC for approximately $85 million. According to the announcement, FDC Vitamins does business as Nutri-Force Nutrition, a contract manufacturer of vitamins, minerals and supplements. Commenting on the transaction, Tony Truesdale, Vitamin Shoppe CEO said in a statement, "I'm very pleased to announce plans to expand our sourcing capabilities with the strategic acquisition of Nutri-Force."

According to the Financial Times, TOMS is being put up for sale, and could fetch as much as $600 million. The Los Angeles-based ethical label has donated over 10 million pairs of shoes to children in need over the course of eight years in business. TOMS is best known for its canvas shoes, but has expanded in

Private equity firm Sycamore Partners announced Monday that it bought the going-out-of-business Coldwater Creek brand and other intellectual property through an affiliate company during the apparel chain's bankruptcy proceedings. Sycamore said it plans to relaunch Coldwater Creek as an independent portfolio company, but it didn't give a timeline for the launch. Terms of the acquisition weren't disclosed. "Coldwater Creek is an outstanding brand with a 30-year heritage and strong support from its loyal base of longtime customers," said Peter Morrow, a managing director of Sycamore Partners.