Mergers & Acquisitions

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — AutoZone has elected Enderson Guimaraes to its board of directors.

Guimaraes is CEO of PepsiCo Europe, a role he assumed in September 2012, and is responsible for PepsiCo's food and beverage businesses in Continental Europe as well as the United Kingdom and sub-Sahara Africa. "

Enderson's exceptional international operations experience will benefit AutoZone greatly. We are fortunate to have him as a new board member," said Bill Rhodes, chairman, president and CEO.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Simon Property Group and Paragon Outlet Partners, Baltimore,  have signed a letter of intent to jointly develop Charlotte Premium Outlets, in Stallings, N.C.

Projected to open in 2014, the outlet center will be 400,000 sq. ft. and will house approximately 100 designer and name brand stores.
  
The project, which is expected to break ground during spring 2013, is a 50/50 joint venture between Simon Property Group and Paragon Outlet Partners.

New York -- Murphy Oil is splitting in two in order to better focus on the separate tasks of exploration and production, and the sale of gasoline and other goods through its retail locations, the Associated Press reported.

Murphy USA will become a separate company focused on selling fuels. Murphy USA operates retail gasoline stations in 23 states. Murphy USA will also operate seven fuel distribution terminals and ethanol production facilities in North Dakota and Texas.

New York -- Maefield Development, Infinity Urban Century, The Witkoff Group and New Valley, an investment unit of Vector Group LTD announced that they have completed the $430 million acquisition of their Times Square Gateway Center development site. The purchase clears the way for construction of a 340,000-sq.-ft., 36-story, multi-use development that will anchor the northern end of Times Square, with a new retail experience, a hotel tower, and the nation's largest single LED screen.

San Jose, Calif. -- Togo's is aggressively targeting Oregon for expansion. The sandwich chain has fueled its development plans based on recent success of its Oregon franchisees.

The company aims to open 25-30 restaurants throughout Oregon in cities such as Portland, Eugene, Hillsboro, Bend, Medford, Salem, Klamath Falls, as well as Vancouver, Wash., over the next several years.

New York – Alsea, Latin America's biggest restaurant operator, will invest $110 million over the next three years in 220 new Starbucks cafes in Mexico and Argentina, Reuters reported.

Around $75 million of the investment would be put into some 170 new stores in Mexico, which is Starbucks' fastest-growing Latin American market, with the balance going to its number two regional market Argentina, according to the report.

Currently, Argentina and Brazil have about 50 Starbucks stores each.

NEW YORK — Tiffany & Co. is shifting and expanding responsibilities for two executive vice presidents, Beth Canavan and Frederic Cumenal.

Cumenal joined Tiffany in March 2011 from the LVMH Group. He has been responsible for Tiffany’s businesses in Asia, Japan, Europe and Emerging Markets. Effective immediately, Cumenal will expand his role to assume responsibility for all of Tiffany’s worldwide sales activities.

Seattle -- Nordstrom plans to open a Nordstrom Rack on Long Island, N.Y., at Manhasset Center, which is owned and operated by Kimco Realty Corp.

The approximately 32,000-sq.-ft. store will be the retailer's third Nordstrom Rack location on Long Island and is scheduled to open in spring 2013.

The new two-level Nordstrom Rack will move into the former Filene's Basement location at Manhasset Center and will occupy space on both the ground and second level.