Mergers & Acquisitions

Minneapolis -- Best Buy Co. said Tuesday that CFO James Muehlbauer has resigned the company. He will continue in an advisory capacity until Feb. 3.

The retailer said it has launched a search for a permanent replacement.

Muehlbauer’s resignation is the latest in a string of executive departures for Best Buy, and comes as founder and former chairman Richard Schulze mulls an offer to buy the company.

White Plains, N.Y. -- Oak Brook, Ill.-based Inland Diversified Real Estate Trust announced the acquisition of a majority interest in City Center at White Plains, a four-story, 381,905-sq.-ft. mixed-use shopping center and apartment property in White Plains, N.Y.

The property was acquired in a joint venture between a subsidiary of Inland Diversified and affiliates of real estate developer Cappelli Group. The joint venture valued the property at approximately $166.4 million.

Topeka, Kan. -- Following earlier reports on Wednesday that Shopko CEO Paul Jones had departed the company to pursue another opportunity, Payless Holdings has announced that Jones has stepped in as chief executive for the shoe chain.

Jones, whose appointment is effective Oct. 22 and whose retail history includes executive positions with Sears and Kohl’s, will be based in Topeka.

Rockford, Mich. -- Wolverine Worldwide said Tuesday it will complete its previously announced acquisition of Collective Brands' Performance + Lifestyle Group, which consists of the Sperry Top-Sider, Saucony, Stride Rite and Keds brands, for $1.24 billion.

The banners will become Wolverine’s largest operating group, adding more than $1 billion in revenue to Wolverine’s existing stable of brands such as Merrell and Hush Puppies.

New York -- Garrison Investment Group said Tuesday it has acquired a 13-property portfolio totaling 1.7 million sq. ft. of neighborhood and community shopping centers in Ohio and Indiana. The seller is Kimco Realty Corp.

The 13 properties feature retailers such as T.J. Maxx, Giant Eagle, Kroger, Bed Bath & Beyond and Home Depot.

Garrison engaged Cincinnati-based Select Strategies Realty manage and lease the properties.

San Antonio, Texas -- Steak n Shake said Tuesday it has signed its first international development agreement, which will bring the concept to the Middle East.

Steak n Shake has signed an exclusive area development agreement with the Saleh Bin Lahej Group to open 40 restaurants throughout the United Arab Emirates. This agreement represents the initial expansion of the brand outside the continental United States.

I’m sure I wasn’t the only person in the industry to raise an eyebrow when the S&P Retail Index notched an all-time high last month. Closing at $669.26 on September 14th to reach that milestone, the index has continued to creep up even further the last couple of weeks. A closer look at the stock market performance of the retail sector shows that both REITs and many individual retailers are continuing a strong positive trend—which makes sense, of course, because REITs will perform better in a strong retail environment when retailers are doing well.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings Corp., which in February announced it would spin off its Hometown and Outlet businesses as a separate publicly traded entity, said Tuesday it expects to receive about $446.5 million in gross proceeds from an offering tied to the spinoffs.

The offering of rights to purchase shares of the spinoff debuted on the Nasdaq under the "SHOSR" ticker symbol in September. According to Sears, the rights offering expired on Monday; preliminary results show that more than 95% of the options were exercised.