Mergers & Acquisitions

EMERYVILLE, Calif. — LeapFrog Enterprises has named Ray Arthur as CFO.

Minneapolis -- A Monday report in the Wall Street Journal said that grocery supplier C&S Wholesale Grocers is said to be interested in buying the distribution business of Supervalu Inc.

On July 11, Supervalu – which owns such grocery banners as Albertson’s, Jewel-Osco and Save-A-Lot – revealed it would explore a sale of all or part of the company. It said it had hired Goldman Sachs and Greenhill & Co. to launch a review of strategic options, including asset sales.

NEW YORK — TLB Merger Sun, an affiliate of Sycamore Partners, has extended the expiration of its tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock, and the associated stock purchase rights, of The Talbots Inc. for $2.75 per share, net to the seller in cash, without interest, and less any applicable withholding taxes, to 5 p.m., New York City time, on Friday, July 27, unless further extended.

New York -- New York City metro area retailer Daffy’s is going out of business. The discount apparel chain will close all of its 19 stores (eight of which are in Manhattan) this fall, according to various reports.

The closings are not totally unexpected. In June, Crain’s New York Business reported that Daffy’s was having trouble paying its vendors.

Oakbrook, Ill. -- Ace Hardware has launched an “Express” format for both current Ace retailers and other business owners seeking to integrate the Ace brand into their existing offerings. The new, more compact stores average 5,000-sq.-ft. or less, and include customized merchandising displays and stock more than 11,000 of the most popular and profitable hardware products.

Family Dollar is growing like a weed. To see why, click here.
 

New York -- Sycamore Partners extended the expiration date of its tender offer to buy The Talbots by 14 days. Sycamore said in May that it would buy the women's apparel retailer for $193.3 million, or $2.75 per share -- a price that was lower than its previous offers.

The tender offer was previously scheduled to expire at midnight, New York City time, on July 13. It now has been extended to July 27.
 

New York -- A judge in Delaware on Monday denied requests from the California State Teachers Retirement System and a group of New York City pension funds to seek appointments of lead plaintiff and lead counsel in a consolidated shareholder lawsuit over allegations of bribery involving Wal-Mart Stores’ operations in Mexico, the Associated Press reported.