Mergers & Acquisitions

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.

Troubled department store J.C. Penney saw its stock continue to drop on Wednesday after its announcement on Monday of a new marketing chief. Penney's stock was down another 48 cents, or 3.6 percent, to close Wednesday at $12.80. That came on top of a loss of 54 cents on Tuesday. The last shares closed that low was in 2001. The company will post its latest earnings report on Aug. 20. Penney's has been reeling since former CEO Ron Johnson's strategy to

The Washington Post agreed Monday to sell its flagship newspaper to Amazon.com founder and chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos, ending the Graham family's stewardship of one of America's leading news organizations after four generations. Bezos, whose entrepreneurship has made him one of the world's richest men, will pay $250 million in cash for The Post and affiliated publications to The Washington Post Co., which owns the newspaper and other businesses.

This morning in Mindblowing Acquisitions, American Apparel-legendary for their provocative ads, womanizing owner, and financial trouble-has scooped up Indie 38 member Oak. While the purchase is completely confusing at first glance, diving deeper into both retailers' businesses does reveal some interesting benefits on both side of the fence. After the jump, we've broken down why this is good for both Oak and American Apparel.

Discount retailer ALCO Stores has entered into an agreement to merge with private investment firm Argonne Capital Group LLC. ALCO said in a news release Thursday that Atlanta-based Argonne will acquire all the outstanding share of ALCO Stores’ common stock for $14 per share in cash. The proposed transaction would total about $47 million. ALCO's board of directors has unanimously approved the merger agreement and is recommending that shareholders approve it.

HanesBrands is buying underwear maker Maidenform Brands for approximately $547.6 million. The deal would add brands like Maidenform, Flexees and Self Expressions to the Hanesbrand roster that includes Playtex, Bali, Champion, Wonderbra and its namesake Hanes. "This business is a natural fit into our core business and meets all of our acquisition criteria," HanesBrands’ Chairman and CEO Richard Noll said in a statement.

Men's Wearhouse Inc. has agreed to buy the company that owns the Joseph Abboud clothing brand for $97.5 million. The sale will reunite designer Joseph Abboud, who joined Men's Wearhouse as chief creative director seven months ago, with the brand he launched in 1987. Abboud cut ties with the New York company that owned the brand, JA Holding Inc., eight years ago amid disputes with investors and executives.

Oriental Trading Co., which is part of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate, has purchased toy maker MindWare Holdings Inc. to help expand its product