Mergers & Acquisitions
September 26, 2018 at 11:00 am
Walmart's success doesn't depend on earnings, but rather the story it tells. Amazon.com's revenue climbed since 1998, while net income stayed flat (per FactSet and Recode — see chart below), and Amazon stock rose 1500 percent in that time period. Walmart … welcome to the technology ball. The biggest earnings quarter to watch for Walmart…
September 24, 2018 at 1:54 pm
Fashion brand Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. is close to a deal to buy Italian fashion house Gianni Versace SpA for around $2.35 billion, people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday. The move would put one of the glitziest names in high fashion in the hands of a budding U.S. conglomerate better known for affordable luxury.…
August 30, 2018 at 11:31 am
Wedding retailer David’s Bridal has acquired Blueprint Registry, a Seattle startup that aims to simplify the gift registry process. In a press release, David’s Bridal called the deal an asset acquisition, though all 13 of Blueprint Registry’s employees will remain on board. Blueprint Registry Co-Founder Nevin Shetty told GeekWire that the company will remain independent, but it will…
August 20, 2018 at 12:27 pm
Best Buy announced last week that it will pay $800 million to acquire GreatCall, a company that offers health and medical-alert services to 900,000 older Americans. GreatCall offers seniors several products, including portable medical-alert devices and easy-to-use mobile phones, that provide access to urgent-response teams, doctors and nurses, as well as offer reminders to take medications. The acquisition…
August 9, 2018 at 10:12 am
Albertsons Companies and Rite Aid Corp. announced on Wednesday that they are calling off their merger agreement. The $24 billion deal, announced in February, has faced opposition from a number of investors as well as top-10 shareholder Highfields Capital Management. Critics have argued the deal provides Albertsons’ private-equity owner, Cerberus Capital Management, a vehicle to…
July 26, 2018 at 11:31 am
U.S. grocery retailer Supervalu will sell itself to United Natural Foods in a $2.9 billion deal that includes debt, it said on Thursday, after coming under pressure from some shareholders to explore a sale. United Natural Foods, a distributor of natural and organic foods, offered Supervalu shareholders $32.50 per share in cash, a 67 percent premium…
July 3, 2018 at 10:49 am
After appointing a CEO for its healthcare joint venture with Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan last month, Amazon.com announced an acquisition that underscores how it also hopes to have a more direct — and more commercial — role in the world of healthcare in the coming years. Amazon has purchased PillPack, an online pharmacy the lets users buy…
June 13, 2018 at 12:09 pm
Macy’s has partnered with b8ta, the retail-as-a-service startup that originally started as a way to let people try out new tech products before deciding whether to purchase them. Macy’s has acquired a minority stake in b8ta and will use the startup to enhance The Market, the department store chain's experiential-based retail concept. By partnering with…
June 12, 2018 at 9:12 am
2018 is expected to be another record year for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in retail. However, what's unique is the types of deals that will be driving the market. Three-quarters of the executives surveyed for A.T. Kearney's 2018 Consumer and Retail M&A Report said that they're using acquisitions to help their companies acquire new capabilities, expand their…
June 5, 2018 at 9:07 am
Rue La La, under parent company Kynetic, has acquired Gilt Groupe from Hudson’s Bay Co. to create one large flash sales entity called Rue Gilt Groupe. After merging, the companies are slated to reach $1 billion in sales. The combined group will be the fourth largest player in the flash sales space, according to Rue La…
