Finance & Capital Management

Mars is in the process of buying the Iams, Eukanuba, and Natura brands from P&G for $2.9 billion in cash. Mars Petcare said the strategic move complements its growing global Petcare business.

The companies expect to complete the transaction in the second half of 2014, subject to regulatory approvals.

Dallas -- Corner Bakery Café has signed a new multi-unit development agreement with Holm Bake, LLC, headquartered in Winter Park, Fla., which plans to open its first of 17 restaurants in the Orlando, Fla., area next year and the remaining sites over the following six years.

Consumer reviews provider Viewpoints is poised to acquire PowerReviews from Bazaarevoice after a court agreed with the Department of Justice that Bazarrevoice’s acquisition of PowerReviews two years earlier was anticompetitive.
 

Montreal – Dollarama Inc. reported an increase in sales, net earnings and same-store sales for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2014, compared to the same periods in the prior year. During the fourth quarter, net earnings rose 8% to $83 million from $77.1 million.

Meanwhile, sales rose 4% to $582.3 million from $561.9 million and same-store sales grew 1.1%. The addition of 89 net new stores, increases in same-store sales and average transaction size helped drive overall sales growth.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Walmart, a pioneer in the use of LED lighting in its freezer cases and parking lots, is now extending its use of LEDs to the sales floor. The retailer plans to install energy-efficient LED ceiling lighting from GE in its new supercenters in the United States, along with stores in Asia, Latin America, and the United Kingdom.

First it was signage and then came the freezer case and parking lots. Now Walmart and GE are moving forward with their biggest lighting initiative to date.

The companies announced plans to use GE LED lights in ceiling fixtures in hundreds of stores throughout the U.S., Asia, Latin Amerian and the United Kingdom. The new fixtures use 40% less energy than traditional overhead lighting systems and move Walmart forward on its goal of reducing energy required to power its buildings globally by 20% by 2020. It is Walmart’s largest purchase of GE LED lighting to date.

Despite difficult weather conditions during the peak holiday season, Dollarama enjoyed an increase in sales, net earnings and earnings per share for the fourth quarter ended Feb. 2.

"Fourth quarter and full-year financial results came out strong despite the adverse impact of severe weather conditions on store traffic, particularly in December, during our peak sales period. While not as severe, weather conditions did remain challenging for the remainder of the winter season," stated Larry Rossy, chairman and CEO of Dollarama.

Guess? has appointed Joseph Gromek to its board, increasing the number of directors to seven and bringing the total number of independent directors to five. Gromek will also serve on the compensation and nominating and governance committees of the board.