Mergers & Acquisitions

CVSL, a direct-selling company run by Mary Kay Inc.'s former chairman, has offered to buy Blyth Inc. for about $268 million, two people with knowledge of the matter said. CVSL offered to pay $16.75 a share for Blyth, which sells candles, fragrances and ViSalus weight-loss products, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. The offer, which was extended last week, could be made public by CVSL as soon as today, one of the people said. Blyth rose 21 percent to close at yesterday, giving it a market value of $248.2 million.

Ares Management and Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board have completed their $6 billion purchase of luxury retailer Neiman Marcus. The transaction ends control of the luxury retailer by private equity firms TPG Capital and Warburg Pincus. They bought the company for $5.1 billion in 2005 during booming economic times, and just before a global economic crisis. Neiman Marcus, founded in 1907 by Herbert Marcus Sr., his sister Carrie Marcus and her husband A.L Neiman, has had a series of owners during its rich history. 

Men's Wearhouse is pursuing a possible purchase of dress-shoe maker Allen Edmonds, according to people familiar with the matter — and Jos. A. Bank Clothiers has a vested interest in the outcome. Such a deal could complicate Jos. A. Bank's own unsolicited — and spurned — bid for Men's Wearhouse. In order to pull off its cash bid for Men's Wearhouse, an offer valued at $2.3 billion, Jos. A. Bank would need to raise a significant amount of debt. 

Advance Auto Parts will become the largest auto-parts retailer in North America with a $2.04 billion cash deal to buy Carquest Auto Parts’ parent company General Parts International Inc. The combined company will have annual sales of $9.2 billion, pushing it just past Memphis, Tenn.-based AutoZone, which reported adjusted sales of roughly $9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31.

Men's Wearhouse rejected an unsolicited $2.3 billion takeover bid by Jos. A. Bank Clothiers on Wednesday, calling the proposed deal "highly opportunistic" and likely to draw antitrust scrutiny. Jos. A. Bank proposed paying $48 a share in cash for Men's Wearhouse, 36 percent above its closing stock price on Tuesday. But the Men's Wearhouse board said the bid undervalued the company and wasn't in the best interests of shareholders.

Staples bought e-commerce software startup Runa, looking to use the San Mateo, Calif., company's offerings to personalize its online store. "With Runa, we're adding technology to better serve our customers with personalized items, offers and delivery estimates, all in real time," said Staples Chief Executive Ronald Sargent. "Runa will allow us to tap into the wealth of engineering and e-commerce expertise in the Silicon Valley area."

The owners of the Neiman Marcus chain are near a deal to sell the luxury retailer to a group led by Ares Management and a Canadian pension plan for about $6 billion, a person briefed on the matter said on Sunday. A deal between the Ares-led group and Neiman's primary owners, Warburg Pincus and TPG Capital, could be announced as soon as this week, this person added, cautioning that talks are ongoing and could still fall apart.

Jarden Corp, known for its Mr. Coffee products, agreed to buy candle maker Yankee Candle Co Inc. for $1.75 billion after private equity owner Madison Dearborn Partners failed to sell for a higher price earlier this year. The acquisition of Yankee Candle, the largest scented candle company in the United States, will bolster Jarden's branded consumables division.

Online retailers JustFab and ShoeDazzle are making a bigger-is-better play and merging in an effort to grow faster, the companies said Wednesday. "Ecommerce is all about that mass scale," said Adam Goldenberg, currently co-chief executive of JustFab. "Having that scale allows us to work with the very best factories." The combined companies should have revenue of over $400 million next year, said ShoeDazzle Chief Executive Brian Lee, and become profitable on an operating basis. ShoeDazzle focuses mainly shoes, whereas JustFab sells a broader range including shoes, accessories and apparel.

Toys“R”Us on Wednesday unveiled its global growth for 2013, with the planned opening of more than 100 stores, including new locations, the relocation and conversion of 14 stores to its side-by-side format, and 22 new licensed stores. The openings represent the net addition of over 900,000 square feet of retail space to the company’s store portfolio. Toys“R”Us’ most significant expansion plans for 2013 are in China, where it's already begun operating several of 22 new stores scheduled to open this year. By year-end, the company plans to operate 51 stores in 27 cities throughout China.