Mergers & Acquisitions

After announcing in January that it would close all of its 127 retail locations, Jones New York is back -- at least in the Great White North.

Dallas - 7-Eleven Inc. is taking its business to Vietnam.

The company has signed a master franchise agreement with Seven System Vietnam Co. Ltd. to develop and operate 7-Eleven stores in Vietnam, with the first stores expected to open in 2017. Seven Systems plans to construct 7-Eleven stores, convert existing locations to the 7-Eleven brand supported by enhanced infrastructure, and eventually franchise operations to local businesspeople.

Procter & Gamble Co. has named a successor to the man who led the company's recent transformation.

Houston - Baker Katz, an X Team International partner and full-service commercial real estate brokerage firm, has acquired a 4.5-acre property with plans to renovate two existing buildings totaling 33,000-sq.-ft. in Atascocita, in the Greater Houston area.

The firm plans to renovate the two buildings that were constructed in 1984 to update the architecture and attract new retail tenants. Construction is slated to begin early next year. Jim Bayne with Investar Real Estate Services represented the seller for this transaction

Carrollton, Texas -- TGI Fridays is looking for a new chief executive.

The company announced that Nick Shepherd recently informed the Fridays’ board of his decision to step down as president and CEO, citing that he believes the time is right to pass the torch to a new leader to steer the 50-year-old brand through its next chapter of growth.

Shepherd will continue to actively lead the business through mid-October, and will be working closely with Fridays chairman of the board, John Antioco.

Framingham, Mass. – The TJX Cos. Inc. apparently has a taste for vegemite.

TJX is purchasing Trade Secret, an off-price retailer that operates 35 stores in Australia, from Gazal Corp. Ltd. for $58.45 million. The acquisition of Trade Secret provides TJX an opportunistic entry into Australia, where it currently operates one of its 13 buying offices.

A week after releasing more than 60 new cloud products and solutions through its cloud computing subsidiary Aliyun, Alibaba is making more bold moves.

Hangzhou, China – A week after unveiling a cloud protection plan and releasing more than 60 new cloud products and solutions through its cloud computing subsidiary Aliyun, Alibaba is not standing still.

The Chinese Internet giant is firmly staking a claim in the cloud with the planned investment of an additional $1 billion to fuel further growth at Aliyun.