Mergers & Acquisitions

American Eagle Outfitters said it would exit its children's apparel business, which had a loss in the last fiscal year. The company said it was "exploring options," including a full or partial sale of assets for the 77kids by American Eagle brand, the company said in a statement. The brand had a net loss of $24 million on sales of $40 million in the year ended Jan. 28, according to the statement. American Eagle said in a separate statement that its chief financial officer, Joan Hilson, planned to step down after more than six years at the company.

Bidz.com, an online retailer of jewelry, announced that it's entered into a definitive merger agreement with Glendon Group to be acquired for $0.78 per share in cash. This per share price represents a premium of 59.2 percent over the company's closing price of $0.49 per share on May 16, 2012, the last trading day prior to the execution of the merger agreement. The proposed transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2012. Following completion of the transaction, Bidz.com would become a privately held company.

Sears Canada announced today that Sears Holdings Corporation, which holds approximately 95 percent of Sears Canada's common shares, has advised it that Sears Holdings’ board of directors has approved plans to pursue a distribution of a portion of its holdings in Sears Canada such that, immediately following the spin-off, Sears Holdings would retain approximately 51 percent of the issued and outstanding shares of Sears Canada. Sears Holdings has indicated that subsequent to the spin-off, it may sell, hold or distribute to holders of Sears Holdings’ common stock any portion of its remaining interest in Sears Canada.

Coty Inc. said on Monday it's withdrawing its $10.7 billion takeover bid for Avon Products, saying the world's largest cosmetics direct seller had missed its deadline to start talks. Coty had first made a public offer for Avon in April, but later told that company's board that it had until the close of business on Monday to start talks.

Golf Town and Golfsmith International Holdings announced that they've signed a definitive merger agreement, pursuant to which Golf Town will acquire Golfsmith, for $6.10 per share in cash. This represents a premium of 32.2 percent to Golfsmith stockholders based on the volume-weighted average closing prices of the company common stock on the 30 trading days immediately preceding this announcement. The closing of the acquisition is expected to occur in the third quarter of 2012. Upon the closing of the transaction, Martin Hanaka will assume the role of CEO of the combined company. 

American Greetings Corporation announced it has acquired all of the outstanding senior secured debt of Clinton Cards for approximately $56 million through a subsidiary in the United Kingdom. Clinton Cards, one of the largest specialty retailers of greetings cards in the U.K., has approximately 750 stores and annual revenues of approximately $600 million across its two primary retail brands, Clinton Cards and Birthdays. The legacy Clinton Cards business has been an important customer to American Greetings’ international business for approximately 40 years and is one of American Greetings' largest customers.

Bed Bath & Beyond announced plans to acquire home goods retailer Cost Plus for $495 million. The all-cash deal will close in the second quarter and Cost Plus will continue to operate as a subsidiary. The two home goods chains have worked together for two years, with Bed Bath & Beyond testing Cost Plus-style specialty food departments in several of its stores. That trend will accelerate after the acquisition. 

LuxeYard, the boutique luxury flash-sale site, announced that it signed an agreement to acquire LeatherGroups.com, the online division of Solana Beach, Calif.-based furniture retailer homeLOFT. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed. The transaction was led by LuxeYard CEO Braden Richter and coincides with the creation of an acquisitions team, which will be based in LuxeYard's New York office. The company is actively pursuing several other acquisitions as part of its effort to consolidate the flash-sale category and to reinvent the future of social and mobile e-commerce with its concierge buying and group buy technologies.

Barneys New York announced that it's reached an agreement with the company's largest lender, Perry Capital, its sponsor, Istithmar World, and certain of its other lenders to significantly reduce the company's debt and improve its capital structure. The transaction provides Barneys with significant financial flexibility to prioritize its investment in its operations and grow the business. As part of the agreement, Perry Capital and The Yucaipa Companies have partnered to convert debt for equity in order to reduce Barneys' long-term debt from $590 million to $50 million. As a result, Perry Capital has become the majority owner of Barneys.

Talbots said it's received a raised takeover offer of $214.6 million from private equity firm Sycamore Partners. The company also said it entered an exclusivity agreement with Sycamore, which will end on May 15. Talbots said Sycamore had offered to pay $3.05 per share — slightly higher than the $3.00 per share offer it made in December. Talbots’ board of directors said it continues to evaluate strategic alternatives. Talbots' fourth-quarter loss widened to $53.2 million, or 77 cents per share, from last year’s loss from continuing operations of $2.8 million, or 4 cents per share.