Mergers & Acquisitions

Washington, D.C. -- The JCR Companies has acquired Manokeek Village Shopping Center in Accokeek, Maryland, just 10 minutes from the Washington, D.C. Beltway, for $22 million. The seller was Klaff Realty.

The 90,172-sq.-ft. grocery-anchored shopping center is located at the intersection of Manny and Berry Roads in Prince George’s County.

Anchored by Giant Food, Manokeek Village is more than 90% leased to a lineup of retailers including Starbucks, Wendy’s Advance Auto, SunTrust Bank, and 7-Eleven.

Lafayette, Indiana -- Mid-America Real Estate Corporation’s Investment Sales team recently brokered the sale of Lafayette Pavilions Shopping Center located in Lafayette, Indiana. The 348,531-sq.-ft. regional shopping center was acquired by a real estate investment trust sponsored and managed by Phoenix-based Cole Capital for $54 million.

Lafayette Pavilions Shopping Center is located at the southwest corner of State Road 26 and Creasy Lane; it is anchored by Gordmans, Hobby Lobby, Gander Mountain, and TJ Maxx.
 

Fort Myers, Fla. – Chico’s FAS Inc. may be the next big-name retailer to undergo an acquisition. Private equity firm Sycamore Partners is reportedly pursuing a $3 billion acquisition of the specialty women’s apparel retailer.

According to Reuters, Sycamore already has an agreement in principle to acquire Chico’s, contingent upon obtaining financing. However, Sycamore may be having difficulty finding a bank or banks willing to allow as much debt as the company is looking for.
 

Mississauga, Canada – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is reportedly expanding its Canadian operation, even as chief rival Target is exiting the country after spending $4 billion in an effort to open stores there. According to the Wall Street Journal, Wal-Mart plans to spend $270 million on building 29 new Canadian supercenters and an expanded distribution network to support them.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid is set to acquire the leading independent pharmacy benefit manager Envision Pharmaceutical in a deal valued at $2 billion, the retailer announced Wednesday.    Rite Aid shares were up more than 8% in pre-market trading on the news.   

Rite Aid is set to acquire leading independent pharmacy benefit manager Envision Pharmaceutical in a deal valued at $2 billion.  

Procter & Gamble Co. has added the former CEO and chairman of Home Depot Inc. to its board of directors.

Francis Blake, 65, joins the board efefctive immediately.

The move comes just a few days after his retirement as chairman of Home Depot. He stepped down from the CEO position in November.

DDR Corp.'s board of directors has promoted David Oakes to the chief executive officer post.

Oakes, the company's president and chief financial officer, fills a seat left empty by Daniel Hurwitz, who stepped down as CEO in December.

"After a thorough and robust search process, the board is confident that David is the right person to lead DDR into the future," Terry Ahern, the company's chairman, said. "I also want to thank the team for the terrific job that they have done while the board conducted the search process."

Whole Foods Market's value message is resonating with shoppers as America’s favorite natural grocer delivered same store sales growth of 4.5% and record first quarter profits.

Whole Foods said sales for its first quarter ended Jan. 18 increased 10% to $4.7 billion due to the addition of new selling space and the increased productivity of existing stores reflected in the 4.5% comp increase, which pushed sales per square foot to $990.

Los Angeles -- Fast-casual pizza franchise PizzaReb has entered into a financing agreement with Wintrust Franchise Services to support the restaurant company’s growth.

“We’re eager to build on the growth momentum we’re experiencing with our customers and franchise partners, and the Wintrust fund will greatly support our strategic development goals,” said Rodney Eckerman, co-CEO and founder, PizzaRev.