Mergers & Acquisitions

Williamsville, N.Y. -- Tops Friendly Markets has entered an agreement with C&S Wholesale Grocers affiliate GU Markets to acquire 21 supermarkets located in upstate New York and Vermont.

Tops said the acquisition will bring its number of operating stores to 153 and will expand Tops' footprint further into areas of northern and eastern New York State and neighboring northern Vermont. For the time being, 20 of the stores will continue to operate under the Grand Union banner, while the other store will continue to operate under the Bryant's banner.

CARLISLE, Pa. — Royal Ahold's American division has split its EVP marketing and merchandising position in two, the company said.

Ahold USA announced the appointment of Erik Keptner to the newly created position of EVP marketing. The search for an EVP merchandising is ongoing, the company said. Ahold USA operates the Giant-Carlisle, Giant-Landover and Stop & Shop chains and the online grocery service Peapod.

The July 13 settlement of a lawsuit over allegedly fixed credit card interchange fees is a credit positive for the two largest industry players Visa and Mastercard, but will have a smaller impact on merchant acquirers, retailers and banks, said  Moody’s Investors Service in a new special comment "Credit Card Interchange Fee Settlement is Credit Positive For Visa, MasterCard."

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Deerfield, Ill. -- After months of slumping sales following its split with Express Scripts Holding Co., Walgreens said it has forged a new multi-year contract with the prescription provider and will begin filling Express Scripts prescriptions on Sept. 15.

Walgreen had stopped filling prescriptions for Express Scripts after a contract between the companies ended last year. Express Scripts ended the contract because it said Walgreens wanted a premium compared to what Express Scripts paid other pharmacies.

NEW YORK — Best Buy plans to hire 500 new Geek Squad staffers. The move comes some two weeks after the retailer said it would lay off 600 existing workers in the tech support arm of its business as it looked to focus the group less on basic installation services and more on remote tech consulting. It also comes as Verizon announced it was partnering with Geek Squad to offer services to meet the information technology requirements of small and mid-size businesses across the country.

Birmingham, Ala. -- Books-A-Million said its largest shareholder group, the Anderson family, has withdrawn its non-binding offer to take the company private.

The Anderson family, which owns a 53% stake in the chain, had offered $3.05 per share in cash to take the company private in April.

“After discussing the proposal with the special committee of the company’s board of directors and its advisers, the Anderson family has decided not to pursue the proposed acquisition at this time,” the company said in a statement.

Darden Restaurants’ recent $585 million purchase of one of casual-dining’s rising stars, Yard House USA, put a spotlight on the brand, which has 39 locations. But Yard House is also generating buzz with its first Boston location, which is located just a stone’s throw away from one of the nation’s most historic sporting venues: Fenway Park.