Mergers & Acquisitions

David's Bridal will be sold to private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in a deal that values the wedding dress retailer at $1.05 billion, the private equity firm announced on Tuesday. David's Bridal, a 300-store chain with a 60-year history, offers moderately priced wedding gowns and accessories, and in recent years has increased its higher-end offerings, including a line designed by Vera Wang.

The New York Times reported Thursday about Allen Questrom's on-air visit with CNBC for its Fast Money Halftime Report, during which the former J.C. Penney CEO was very candid about his disapproval of new chief Ron Johnson's approach to leadership.

Talbots is expected to unveil new management for the classic women's clothing retailer this week after a finalized buyout of the Hingham, Mass.-based company triggered CEO Trudy Sullivan's resignation. Sycamore Partners expected to complete its purchase of the struggling Talbots last week. The New York private equity firm said it completed its tender offer for the classic women's clothing retailer that expired Thursday night and left Sycamore in control of 83.6 percent of Talbots’ outstanding shares.

Richard Schulze, the founder of Best Buy, wants to buy the company for $24 to $26 per share in a deal that would value the company at more than $8 billion. CNBC's David Faber has the details.

Canadian home improvement company Rona Inc. said Tuesday that it rejected a C $14.50 (U.S. $14.21) per share offer made by Lowe's to acquire the company. Rona said after careful consideration the offer, which values the company at about C$1.89 billion (U.S. $1.85 billion), wasn't in its own or shareholders’ best interest. "Rona's strategic focus remains to execute on its business plan with a view to capturing the significant opportunities that it sees for the business," Rona said in a statement.

J.C. Penney said Monday it's raised $248 million and taken its first step toward shedding noncore assets by selling off part of its stake in a Simon Property Group unit. Following the transaction, the real estate unit for Penney — JCP Realty — will hold about 205,000 limited partnership units in Simon’s operating partnership. Also on Monday, J.C. Penney CEO Ron Johnson unveiled a trio of in-store shops, slated to open at 683 J.C. Penney stores across the United States starting on Aug. 1. The three in-store concepts all feature denim offerings. 

The American private equity group TPG Capital has made a $715 million takeover offer for Billabong International, the Australian surfwear company announced Tuesday. It's the second time this year that TPG of Texas has tried to buy Billabong. The surfwear company said TPG International, a unit of TPG Capital, was offering 694.6 million Australian dollars in cash for all of its outstanding shares.

Private equity firm Brentwood Associates has acquired a majority stake in Sundance Catalog and plans to scale the luxury retailer, long overshadowed by its sister resort and festival, into an e-commerce powerhouse, the investment firm told TheWrap. The move came as Los Angeles-based Brentwood sold off stock in some of its niche brands — French equestrian shoemaker Ariat International and clothier Filson Holdings — to purchase what partner Eric Reiter called "a gem." 

Amazon.com reportedly agreed on Monday to buy mapping startup UpNext, the latest sign of increased competition between the world's largest internet retailer and tech rivals such as Google and Apple. GigaOM reported that UpNext Founders Raj Advani, Vik Advani, Robin Har and Danny Moon will move from New York to Seattle, where Amazon is based, to lead the e-commerce company's mapping efforts. The technology news service didn't report a purchase price, but said UpNext backers, including Chris Sacca's Lowercase Capital, will get a five-fold return on their investment, made about 16 months ago.

Word on the street is Best Buy’s founder Richard Schulze would like to find a buyer willing to help turn around the struggling chain. But retail industry insiders question whether anyone would want to invest billions of dollars in the electronics retailer in its current state. Schulze left his position as Best Buy’s chairman earlier this month and has reportedly hired the Credit Suisse Group to help him explore buyout options for the retailer. Schulze still owns a stake in the company valued at approximately $1.4 billion, but in order to present a viable buyout plan he would have