Mergers & Acquisitions

NEW YORK -- MGA Entertainment has partnered with Nickelodeon to create a new animated series based on the best-selling Lalaloopsy toy line.

New York -- A&G Realty Partners said Tuesday it has been retained by Bakers Footwear Group Inc. to handle the liquidation of its remaining 56 mall stores.

According to A&G, an auction for the store leases is slated for Feb. 18, with a deadline to submit bids to A&G Realty by Feb. 21.

New York -- A Tuesday report by the Wall Street Journal said that Harris Teeter Supermarkets is considering putting itself up for sale.

Citing unnamed sources, WSJ reported that the grocer is working with J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. to pursue strategic options.

No one from Harris Teeter has commented yet.

HOUSTON — Stage Stores is consolidating its South Hill, Virginia regional operations into its Houston, Texas corporate headquarters, in an effort to increase efficiency, create synergies, reduce expenses and enhance growth.

Naperville, Ill. -- OfficeMax has received approximately $129 million in cash proceeds related to its October 2004 investment in Boise Cascade Holdings, LLC. Since 2004, OfficeMax has held two classes of securities in BCH, non-voting equity securities ("Series A Units") and voting equity securities ("Series B Units").

Omaha, Neb. -- Apparel and home décor chain Gordmans announced Monday it has appointed Michael Morand as EVP and chief merchandising officer.

Morand has served as Gordmans' EVP planning, allocation and analysis since 2008. In his new position, he will lead the combined merchandising and planning team and drive the retailer’s continued expansion in both new and existing markets.

Sherman Oaks, Calif. — American apparel brand Cherokee Inc. said Monday it has partnered with Chinese hypermarket chain RT Mart to launch an online Cherokee store on China’s largest e-commerce website, Tmall.com.

Cherokee will join Gap, Uniqlo, Adidas and Levi’s, who have each opened retail storefronts on Tmall.com.

Purchase, N.Y. — MasterCard Advisors, a division of MasterCard, and analytics firm Mu Sigma announced a new partnership to develop analytic products toward solving business challenges such as acquiring customers and increasing customer loyalty.

As part of the partnership, MasterCard has acquired an equity stake in Mu Sigma. Additional terms of the deal were not disclosed.