Mergers & Acquisitions

New York City -- A Friday report by Reuters said that restaurant veteran Tilman Fertitta has added to his restaurant holdings by reaching a $117 million deal for Morton's Restaurant Group Inc., which operates high-end steakhouses nationwide.

Fertitta, who expanded his stake from in Morton’s from the 5% he already held, has outlined plans to modernize the struggling chain.

This latest deal marks Fertitta’s second acquisition in two months, as in November he acquired seafood chain McCormick & Schmick's.

Los Angeles -- CBRE said Friday that Michael F. Smith has been promoted to president of the company’s Western Division. Smith, who has led CBRE’s San Francisco Bay area operations since 2002, succeeds Steven Swerdlow, who has been appointed COO of the Americas.

In his new role, Smith will direct CBRE’s operations in more than 46 offices in nine states, with responsibility for all lines of business. He will continue in his role as Bay Area market leader until a successor is named.
 

New York City -- Global architecture and design firm Callison announced Friday the acquisition of New York City-based Barteluce Architects & Associates.

This acquisition will grow Callison’s New York team to over 75 architects. Since Jan. 1, 2011, Callison has added more than 200 professionals to its global offices and the company said it plans to make more strategic acquisitions and investments in the future.

Yonkers, N.Y. -- Aries Deitch & Endelson said that a lease was recently signed by TJX Cos. for a 32,000-sq.-ft. T.J. Maxx store slated to open this spring at Westchester County’s Ridge Hill, the New York metropolitan area’s largest mixed-use outdoor shopping center. 

Located in Yonkers, the lifestyle center, which is owned by Forest City Ratner Cos., spans more than 81.4 acres and includes 1.3 million sq. ft.

CAMP HILL, Pa. -- Rite Aid Corp. reported Thursday that it lost $54.5 million in the fiscal quarter, narrowed from a loss of $81.5 million a year earlier. The chain has trimmed its projected loss for fiscal 2012 based on the results.

Revenue rose almost 2% to $6.31 billion, compared with $6.2 billion in the year-ago period and surpassing Wall Street’s expected $6.29 billion in revenue. Same-store sales increased 2%. 

Rite Aid is upping its store improvement spending and has focused efforts on building its Wellness Plus rewards program.

New York -- Tiffany & Co.  announced that Stephane Lafay has been appointed to the newly-created position of group VP - Asia-Pacific Region and President - Tiffany Japan. 

Lafay, 46, joined Tiffany in 2009 as president of Tiffany’s Japan organization. A search is underway for a managing director of Japan who will report to Lafay. 

Dallas — Davaco has acquired Ecoxera, an Austin, Texas-based retail sustainability consulting firm. Justin Doak, who is the founder of Ecoxera, will continue to serve as president.

ARMONK, N.Y. -- IBM announced a definitive agreement to acquire Emptoris Inc., a leading provider of cloud and on-premise analytics software that brings more intelligence to procurement and supply chain operations with spend, supplier and contract management for “smarter commerce.” Financial terms were not disclosed.