International Business

Walgreens has exercised its option to complete the second step of its strategic transaction with Alliance Boots ahead of the original option period, which was between February and August 2015. The transaction, subject to shareholder and various regulatory approvals, would fully combine the two companies to form the first global pharmacy-led, health and well-being enterprise.
 

Los Angeles — CBRE Group announced that it has acquired CBRE | Louisville, a commercial real estate services firm that has served as CBRE’s affiliate in metropolitan Louisville, Kentucky and southern Indiana since 1996.

The firm has a staff of 34 and manages more than 10 million sq. ft. in the region.

Smith & Wesson has hired Andrew Coccari Jr. to fill the newly created position of SVP of sales and marketing, effective August 11. His appointment follows the announced retirement of Mario Pasantes, SVP of marketing and international sales, scheduled for 2015.

London - Nook Media LLC, a subsidiary of Barnes & Noble Inc., has launched its new Nook GlowLight e-reader in the U.K. The new Nook GlowLight features perfectly-lit pages, sharper text and advanced display technology, and can hold up to 2,000 books.

The Nook GlowLight will be available starting Aug. 6 at Argos, Asda, Blackwells, Foyles, John Lewis, Sainsburys and Very.

Scottsdale, Ariz. - The Cold Stone Creamery will open its first store in Pakistan in September. Kahala Brands, the parent company of Cold Stone Creamery, has signed a master franchise agreement with Venus Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd., part of the Venus Group of companies, spearheaded by Adnan Asad.  

New York -- Uniqlo will make its Midwest debut in fall 2015, opening a flagship in downtown Chicago in fall 2015. The store, located at 830 North Michigan Avenue, will be Uniqlo’s second largest location in the United States, after its Fifth Avenue flagship in New York.

Toys“R”Us has appointed Chetan Bhandari as the company’s SVP, corporate finance and treasurer. He will report to EVP and CFO Mike Short.

Atlanta - Global Payments Inc. has signed a referral agreement with BitPay, a provider of business solutions for the Bitcoin digital currency. This relationship allows Global Payments to incorporate the cryptocurrency into its product suite and to offer Bitcoin payment acceptance to its worldwide merchants.