Finance & Capital Management

Long Island City, N.Y. -- Steve Madden has completed the acquisition of privately held Dolce Vita Holdings Inc., which specializes in the design, sourcing and sale of branded and private label footwear. The acquisition was completed for $60.3 million.

Goodlettsville, Tenn. -- The battle between the extreme discounters is heating up: Dollar General Corp. said Monday it has made an all-cash bid of $9.7 billion for Family Dollar, topping a deal Dollar Tree made last month. Dollar General is bidding $78.50 per Family Dollar share, which includes a $2.26 per share premium over Family Dollar’s closing price on Friday. The offer is $4 higher per share than the $8.5 billion deal with Dollar Tree.

Dollar General bid $78.50 for Family Dollar Monday morning in a $9.7 billion deal that exceeds the $74.50 a share Dollar Tree offered for Family Dollar on July 28.

The deal would create a small format powerhouse with nearly 20,000 stores in 46 states and sales of more than $28 billion.

Online home and housewares retailer Wayfair.com is prepared to go public and has some of the biggest names on Wall Street lined up to sell its shares.

Wayfair.com, one of world’s largest online destinations for home furnishings and décor items, has grown sales rapidly in recently years, but true to form with other aspiring online retailers, its losses have increased as its spends more on marketing.

Little Rock, Ark. – Dillard’s Inc. reported net income of $34.5 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2014, down 5% from $36.5 million the same period the prior year. Increased markdowns and the loss of after-tax credits and gains drove the decline in net income.

Minneapolis – Edward R. (Jack) Cameron, 74, is retiring as president and CEO of Appliance Recycling Centers of America Inc. (ARCA). Mark Eisenschenk, who has served as COO since July 2013, has been promoted to the position of president and CEO.

Orlando, Fla. - Darden Restaurants Inc. has retained global executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates to assist the company with the recruitment of its next CEO. As previously announced, Clarence Otis is stepping down as chairman and CEO of Darden.  

To ensure a smooth transition, Charles A. Ledsinger Jr. has been appointed independent non-executive chairman of the board, and Mr. Otis has agreed to continue serving as CEO of Darden until the earlier of the appointment of his successor or Dec. 31, 2014.

Plano, Texas -- J.C. Penney answered Wall Street questions about whether or not the struggling department store retailer could stage a comeback — by posting better-than-expected profit and revenue in the second quarter.

The Coca-Cola Company plans to acquire a 16.7% interest in Monster Beverage Corporation in an unconventional partnership arrangement involving brands, global distribution and $2.15 billion in cash.

The companies entered into a long-term strategic partnership designed to leverage their respective strengths — Coke’s worldwide bottling system and Monster’s expertise in the energy segment of the beverage category — to accelerate growth globally.

Despite an increase of 1% in comparable store sales, Dillard’s CEO William T. Dillard II expressed disappointment in the company’s bottom line performance.

The company’s net sales for the 13 weeks ended Aug. 2 were $1.475 billion, compared to net sales of $1.480 billion for the 13 weeks ended Aug. 3, 2013. Net sales include the operations of the company’s construction business, CDI Contractors.