Mergers & Acquisitions

New York -- Fairway Group Holdings Corp., operator of the Fairway Market grocery chain, said Wednesday that it raised $177.5 million in its initial public offering after pricing the shares above the marketed range.

Fairway sold 13.65 million shares for $13 each, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, after offering them for $10 to $12. At the offering price, the company has a market value of about $536 million.

The shares, which represent a 33% stake, will be listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol FWM.

With only 12 stores, Fairway Foods is so small it can scarcely be called a regional supermarket chain, but that didn’t stop the company from completing a successful public stock offering on Wednesday.

New York -- The latest round in the battle between Macy’s and J.C. Penney over the sale of Martha Stewart goods went to Macy’s, which on Monday challenged a judge’s decision on Friday to allow certain non-branded Martha Steward items to be sold — at least temporarily — in J.C. Penney stores under the JCP Everyday label.

New York -- A Tuesday report by Bloomberg said that J.C. Penney has an additional plan to raise money; the retailer is said to be considering a spinoff of its real-estate holdings into a new unit that could issue debt.

Citing two unidentified sources, Bloomberg said Penney is also considering selling its real estate and then leasing it back as another avenue to free up money. And other assets, such as inventory, could be collateralized.

Chicago -- True Value Hardware said Tuesday that its president and CEO Lyle Heidemann will retire from the company after eight years at the helm, effective May 31.

The hardware cooperative has named John Hartmann to succeed Heidemann as president and CEO. Hartmann previously served as CEO of New Zealand hardware cooperative Mitre 10. He also spent nearly a decade at Home Depot and HD Supply in a variety of roles, finishing his tenure as CO of the electrical and plumbing/HVAC divisions.

New York -- Macy’s Inc. filed an appeal on Monday, challenging Manhattan state court judge Jeffrey Oing’s Friday ruling that J.C. Penney can sell unbranded Martha Stewart goods in its stores, at least temporarily.

Penney was celebrating the decision that would allow it to sell Martha Stewart items as long as they didn’t carry her name, especially since the products – valued by one analyst at $100 million -- were already manufactured and being stored in warehouses. 

San Francisco -- Dallas-based Cypress Equities said Monday that construction is about to begin on the site of what will become Market Street Place, a 250,000-sq.-ft. retail center scheduled to open in 2015 and co-developed by Cypress Equities and The Carlyle Group.

Market Street Place will be a six-level, urban retail redevelopment designed by Gensler’s San Francisco architectural team.

New York -- Overstock.com founder Patrick M. Byrne has returned as CEO of online discount retailer.

Byrne took a medical leave of absence in February to address cardiac issues thought to be associated with cancer treatments received much earlier in his life.