Mergers & Acquisitions

Gilt Groupe is expanding its e-commerce offerings by launching Gilt Taste, a culinary e-magazine and specialty food market. Gilt Groupe Chairman Susan Lyne and Ruth Reichl, Gilt taste advisor, weigh in.

Big Lots has decided not to sell itself after bids from private equity firms came in below the company's expectations. The chain reportedly had received interest from several buyout firms earlier this year.

Wal-Mart announced today that it's reached an agreement to acquire a minority stake in the holding company of Yihaodian, a fast-growing e-commerce company in China. The transaction is expected to close within 60 days.

Facebook and Google are separately considering acquisition or partnership deals with Skype, according to sources speaking to Reuters. Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg has been in discussions concerning a possible purchase, one of the sources indicated, a deal that could be worth between $3 billion and $4 billion.

The owner of clothing retailers La Senza and American Apparel has bought fellow fashion chain All Saints in a deal set to secure hundreds of jobs. Investment firm Lion Capital has teamed up with American Apparel investor Goode Partners to buy the holdings of two Icelandic banks for an undisclosed sum.

Every day it seems like another group-buying site is popping up out of nowhere. Groupon competitor BuyWithMe has just snatched up the Chicago-based Deal-A-Day Online.

Harry & David, which filed for Chapter 11 in March, asked the court for permission to hire a real estate consultant to help close 50 of its 122 stores. The company seeks approval to hire DJM Realty Services, a subsidiary of the Gordon Brothers Group.

Groupon's latest battlefields are in the East, where it faces an uphill battle in China and is the underdog in Australia. Groupon's latest tactic to gain ground: acquire burgeoning deal site Crowdmass.

eBay has acquired MissionFish, which powers eBay's Giving Works charitable giving program. MissionFish was launched with its own auction marketplace where all of the proceeds went to charity. In 2003, MissionFish helped eBay create the Giving Works program so eBay sellers could donate a portion of their eBay auction proceeds to the charity of their choice.

French luxury retail group PPR SA, parent company to Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga and Puma to name a few, announced a $608 million takeover bid for Volcom.