Mergers & Acquisitions

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreen Co. has entered into an agreement to acquire Stephen L. LaFrance Holdings Inc., the owner and operator of the USA Drug chain, for about $438 million, gaining stores in several Southern states. The acquisition comes on the heels of Walgreens’ announcement that it was buying a 45% stake in Alliance Boots GmbH for $6.7 billion last month to expand globally.

Greensboro, N.C. -- High-end grocer The Fresh Market is making a stand in California, as it prepares to open its first three stores in the state.

According to a Tuesday report by Investor’s Business Daily, Fresh Market has signed leases and begun construction on one store in Santa Barbara, one in Palo Alto and a third in Roseville. The grocer said it expects to open its first store in the state either late this year or early 2013.

Greenwich, Conn. -- Private investment firm Starwood Capital Group announced that an affiliate of Starwood has completed its acquisition of a 90% majority interest in seven U.S. shopping centers from the Westfield Group.

Westfield retained a 10% minority interest in the portfolio.

Starwood also announced that it has formed a new subsidiary, Starwood Retail Partners, to be based in Chicago, to oversee the management of the newly acquired assets and has named Scott Wolstein, co-founder of DDR, as its CEO. 

Carlisle, Pa. -- Ahold subsidiary Giant Food said it has commenced its conversion of 15 former Genuardi's stores. The announcement follows FTC approval of Giant Food’s plan to acquire 15 Genuardi's stores, located in the greater Philadelphia area, from Safeway.

During the conversion process, five stores at a time will temporarily close for about a week. The three-phase staggered approach is expected to be completed on July 22.

Aliso Viejo, Calif. -- Johnny Rockets said Tuesday it has finalized a franchise agreement with restaurant entrepreneur Antonio Augusto Ribeiro de Souza to open 30 restaurants in Brazil. 

This news follows recent announcements of the chain's new franchise agreements in Peru and Ecuador, as well as the opening of its second restaurant in Chile and its first in the Dominican Republic.

Westbrook, Maine -- Olympia Sports announced it has recently surpassed its 200th location and has begun a march south and west from its home state of Maine.

The company plans to open 25 stores during its current fiscal year, including its first store in West Virginia and others in states south of New York. A similar pace of expansion is expected for the following fiscal year beginning in October, said Olympia.

Houston -- Francesca’s Holdings Corp. announced Monday that it has appointed Men’s Wearhouse CFO Neill Davis to its newly created position of president. Both companies are based in Houston.

Davis, a 15-year executive of Men’s Wearhouse, has been a board member of the apparel and accessories chain for the past five years. He will officially become Francesca’s president on Aug. 6.

New York -- U.K. retailing giant Tesco PLC could give up its American supermarket venture, Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market, if the chain continues to disappoint and not make a profit, RetailWeek and other British news organizations reported.

In remarks at the company’s annual meeting on Friday, Tesco CEO Philip Clarke said: “If we see there is no chance of success, we’ll do as we’ve just done in Japan,” referring to Tesco’s deal this month to exit that market.