Mergers & Acquisitions
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.
The Foundry Big & Tall Supply Co., a new specialty retail concept for big and tall men from J.C. Penney, made its retail debut in the Dallas area. Approximately 10 stores are expected to open in the Dallas and Kansas City, Mo., markets by the end of May. The company plans to expand the concept nationwide to 100 stores by 2013, reaching a total of 300 stores over the next five years.
Italian fashion house Prada said it will open stores across the Middle East as part of a joint venture with Emirates luxury retailer Al Tayer Insignia to develop a new retail network.