Mergers & Acquisitions

New York -- British clothing and accessories retailer Jack Wills Outfitters is opening a new store, in New Canaan, Conn.

The company has chosen builder and general contractor A&O Danner, Inc., of Plymouth, Mass., to complete the buildout. In 2010-11, Danner built two other Jack Wills stores in Connecticut, in Greenwich and Westport.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Friday it has created a new executive position to oversee new store formats in international markets.
 
Lev Khasis, who joined the company in 2011 after working in Russian retail, was named president and CEO of new formats for Wal-Mart International. He built up Russia’s largest food retailer X5 through acquisitions into a market leader before resigning to join Wal-Mart Stores.
 

Beachwood, Ohio -- DDR Corp. announced that senior executive VP and CFO David J. Oakes has been named president of the company, effective Jan. 1.
 
Oakes will remain CFO, and will continue to report to CEO Daniel B. Hurwitz.
 
Oakes joined DDR as executive VP of finance and chief investment officer in April 2007. He was promoted to senior EVP finance and chief investment officer in December 2008, and CFO in February 2010.

BELLEVUE, Wash. — Coinstar, a leading provider of automated retail solutions, has appointed its current CFO J. Scott Di Valerio as new CEO, effective April 1. At that time, Di Valerio will also be appointed to the Coinstar board of directors.

Di Valerio succeeds Paul Davis, who is retiring on March 31, and will remain a member of the board until then.

Di Valerio has been CFO at Coinstar since 2010, and has overseen Coinstar's corporate information technology and supply chain functions.

Houston -- Houston-based X Team International partner Baker Katz said that it has completed the sale of the former Syms clothing store in Houston’s Westchase District.

The 40,777-sq.-ft. building was sold to Tennis Express for an undisclosed amount. Tennis Express will relocate an existing store and consolidate off-site storage into the new location.
 

AUSTIN, Minn. — Hormel Foods will acquire the iconic peanut butter brand Skippy from Unilever for approximately $700 million.

Hormel, known for its chili, ham and pork products, looks to balance its portfolio with the non-meat protein product. With peanut butter in a $2 billion category with a 74% household penetration, as well as the second most popular sandwich behind ham in the United States, Hormel will be in a good spot to grow its domestic and global brand presence.

Global freight management firm Geodis Wilson named Eric Martin-Neuville as chief operating officer and a board member.

San Francisco -- In a development that will take it into the growing global luxury market, Gap Inc. announced Thursday it has acquired women’s apparel retailer Intermix Holdco for approximately $130 million in cash. The transaction was completed Dec. 31.