Mergers & Acquisitions

Slow and steady is winning the race at AutoZone where the company just notched its 34th consecutive quarter of double digit profit growth and has a stock pricing heading toward $700.

AutoZone’s sales in the company’s second quarter ended Feb. 14, increased 7.7% to slightly more than $2.1 billion and same store sales increased 3.6%. Net income increased 9.8% to $218 million with an aggressive stock buyback program enabling earnings per share to advance 15.6% to $6.51 cents from $5.63 the prior year and well ahead of analysts’ estimate of $6.38.

Earlier this month when Barnes & Noble reversed itself and said it was going to keep its Nook division, analysts wondered what the retailer would do next. We now have an answer. 

On the heels of Samsung’s announcement that it would roll out Samsung Pay in the United States this summer, PayPal has announced it is buying mobile wallet technology startup Paydiant.

Paydiant technology powers payment apps for such retail brands as Subway and Harris Teeter supermarkets. But its most notable retail client is the merchant consortium MCX, which is developing an in-store payment app (widely viewed as an alternative to Apple Pay) called CurrentC. Walmart, Best Buy and Sears Holdings Corp. are part of MCX.

Justice continues to be a drain on the Ascena Retail Group, as the company reported a drop in same store sales for the second quarter.

The operator of Justice, as well as stores under the Lane Bryant, Cacique, Maurices, Dressbarn, and Catherines brands, said combined same store sales declined 2% during its second quarter of fiscal 2015 ended Jan. 25 due to sluggish sales at Justice.

New York -- Thor Equities has expanded its international portfolio by acquiring a retail property at 777 Saint Catherine Street in Montreal. The historical building is located on the corner of McGill College Avenue and Saint Catherine Street, in the heart of Montreal’s prime shopping corridor.

Shrewsbury, N.J. -- Cost Plus World Market, a division of Bed, Bath & Beyond, has secured a new 15,000-sq.-ft. space at 490 Broad Street, Shrewsbury, New Jersey. It is the retailer’s second store in the New Jersey area (Monmouth County), having opened its first Northeast store in July 2014 at 530 W. Mt. Pleasant Avenue in Livingston, New Jersey (Essex County).  

New York -- It takes a scorecard these days to keep up with the fast-moving mobile payments industry. On the heels of Samsung’s announcement that it would roll out Samsung Pay in the United States this summer, PayPal announced it is buying mobile wallet technology start-up Paydiant.

Denver -- The Running Specialty Group (RSG), a division of The Finish Line, has expanded its presence in the New York City area with the addition of JackRabbit Sports, consisting of four locations. Additionally, JackRabbit owner and founder, Lee Silverman, will join RSG’s leadership team in Denver as senior VP of brand strategy.

Matthews, N.C. – Howard Levine, CEO of Family Dollar Stores Inc., intends to reduce his holdings of company stock for the second time in a month. In an SEC filing, Levine said he will sell up to two million shares of Family Dollar stock in an effort to diversify his portfolio.

In February 2015, Levine sold about 1.77 million shares of Family Dollar stock for $134.5 million. Family Dollar is in the process of being acquired by Dollar Tree Inc.

Barcelona -- Samsung Electronics Co. added new fire to the mobile payment market and its competition with Apple, unveiling two new flagship Galaxy smartphones and a mobile payments system in partnership with MasterCard.