Mergers & Acquisitions

Austin, Texas – A flagship Whole Foods market is reportedly coming to a corner location in midtown Atlanta. According to the Atlanta Business Journal, the multi-level, 70,000-sq,-ft. will anchor a 14-story mixed-use development that will also include 390 luxury apartments.

Miami-based The Related Group is developing the project, with Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart serving as architect.
 

Birmingham, Ala. -- In a deal that may take it private again, Books-A-Million Inc. has given its OK to a buyout deal from the family of its original owners.

The chain reached an agreement to be acquired by a newly organized entity owned by the Anderson Family, which includes Books-A-Million executive chairman Clyde B. Anderson, for $21 million, or $3.25 a share in cash. (According to the most recent SEC filing, the Anderson family already owns 58.2% of the company).

New York -- Starbucks Corp. is expanding its already extensive global footprint.

The chain announced it will open its first stores in South Africa next year in a partnership deal with South African management group Taste Holdings. The initial store is scheduled to open in Johannesburg during the first half of 2016.

With Amazon.com’s share price approaching $500 on the heels of a highly publicized 20th anniversary promotional event, the struggling Books-A-Million chain announced a deal to go private for a paltry sum.

The Books-A-Million chain was always a distant competitor to the likes of Barnes & Noble and even the now defunct Borders chain. Then along came Amazon.com and Books-A-Million grew more irrelevant. As its sales and profits declined so did its growth prospects in the eyes of investors and its stock price.

Ankeny, Iowa - Casey’s General Stores Inc. is set to have its first new CEO in more than a quarter-century. After more than 26 years with the company, Robert J. Myers, chairman and CEO, will retire as CEO at the end of the 2016 fiscal year on April 30, 2016.

Plano, Texas - Rent-A-Center Inc. has sold 14 rent-to-own stores located in Alberta and Ontario, Canada to Canadian merchandise leasing company Easyhome Ltd. The transaction included Rent-a-Center concurrently purchasing three Easyhome rent-to-own stores located in Florida, Missouri and New York.

Chesapeake, Va. – Dollar Tree Inc. is not slowing down after finalizing its $8.5 billion acquisition of Family Dollar Stores Inc. last week. The retailer plans to open a 1.5 million-sq.-ft. distribution center in the vicinity of Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Quebec -- The Quebec City-based Simons department store chains is planning to extend its brand across Canada, according to Canada’s Global News.

The 175-year-old Canadian retailer - plans to spend up to $200 million over the next four years on its expansion plan, which will result in eight additional stores openings across the country, the report said.

Cincinnati – Macy’s is reducing its presence in Pittsburgh. The retailer has sold its downtown Pittsburgh building at 400 Fifth Avenue to Philadelphia-based Core Realty and will close its store in that location.

Mahwah, N.J. - Ascena Retail Group Inc. has downgraded several aspects of its outlook for fiscal 2015, which ends July 25. Ascena now expects full-year adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations in the range of $365 million to $375 million, and full-year adjusted earnings per diluted share from continuing operations in the range of $0.57 to $0.60, as compared to its prior expectation of $0.70 to $0.75 per share