Mergers & Acquisitions

New York -- Best Buy Co. on Friday said it agreed to extend the deadline to Feb. 28 for founder Richard Schulze to make a bid for the company.

The company said it is in the best interest of shareholders to let Schulze and his partners include results from the holiday season in their due diligence review.

Woonsocket, R.I. -- CVS/pharmacy and Medicine Chest Pharmacy announced Friday that CVS will acquire 19 Medicine Chest drug stores in Texas during the last weekend of December.

CVS/pharmacy will operate nine of the acquired locations and relocate 10 other Medicine Chest pharmacies into nearby existing CVS/pharmacy locations. Medicine Chest will continue to operate its remaining 10 locations.

Turkish retailer Migros appears to fit Walmart’s acquisition criteria even if the timing of a potential deal is less than ideal.

Turkey’s leading retailer has been in the headlines a lot this year because the company’s private equity owner, BC Partners, is reportedly looking to dump its ownership position roughly four years after acquiring a majority stake. Various international retailers are said to have had discussions with BC Partners and Walmart is the latest, according to reports this week by the Financial Times, Reuters and other international sources.

New York -- Wal-Mart Stores and Kroger are said to be among the bidders for assets being sold by Hostess Brands Inc., according to Bloomberg.

The report, which cited a person who asked not to be named because the process is confidential, said there are about two dozen bidders, with some interested in just the cakes or breads businesses, and others in individual Hostess plants or products.
 

New York -- According to multiple reports on Thursday, Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s India unit has received a notice from a federal government agency regarding alleged violations of the country’s foreign investment rules.
 
A spokesman for Wal-Mart said: “We will be working to provide the authorities with relevant information,” but didn’t elaborate on the contents of the notice.

Bharti Walmart Pvt. Ltd., a joint venture between Wal-Mart and India's Bharti Enterprises Ltd., operates 20 wholesale stores in the country.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Pier 1 Imports expressed renewed confidence in its three-year growth plan following the release of third quarter results that same store sales advance 7.9%.

Restoration Hardware doesn’t operate many stores, but it is enjoying tremendous momentum at the ones it does operate.

New York -- A Thursday report by the Financial Times said that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is in discussions with Turkish retailer Migros Ticaret AS to acquire an 80% stake in the company from London-based private equity group BC Partners.

The Times said that Walmart held meetings with Migros managers in recent days in Turkey but it had not placed a bid for the Turkish retailer. Sources have not been identified and Wal-Mart so far has not commented.