Mergers & Acquisitions

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

Lowe's announced it's entered into an asset purchase agreement with Orchard Supply Hardware, under which Lowe's will acquire the majority of Orchard's assets for approximately $205 million in cash, plus the assumption of payables owed to nearly all of Orchard's supplier partners. Upon completion of the transaction, the acquisition will enable Lowe's to expand through a new store format and reach a new customer base in California with the addition of Orchard's smaller format metro store locations.

Rakuten, the online marketplace that acquired Buy.com in the U.S., is now extending its capabilities to include a more robust fulfillment service for its third-party merchants. The Japanese company has been on an acquisitions spree to extend its marketplace around the globe in a direct challenge to Amazon.com. Rakukten will acquire Webgistix, a Las Vegas-based company specializing in cloud-based fulfillment technology for e-commerce retailers, and is Rakuten's second logistics investment outside of Japan.

Teen apparel retailer dELiA's has sold its Alloy business to an investor group for $3.7 million in cash and the assumption of $3.1 million in liabilities. Under the terms of the deal, Delias also agreed to provide transition services to the investor group, which will operate the brand under a new company called Alloy Apparel and Accessories.