Mergers & Acquisitions

Carle Place, N.Y. -- 1-800-Flowers.com Inc. has entered into an agreement to acquire gourmet food and gift retailer Harry & David Holdings for $142.5 million in cash.  

The deal includes Harry & David’s brands and websites as well as its headquarters, manufacturing and distribution facilities and orchards in Medford, Oregon, a warehouse and distribution facility in Hebron, Ohio, and 47 Harry & David stores.

Goodlettsville, Tenn. -- The battle for Family Dollar moved into higher gear on Tuesday with Dollar General raising its bid for Family Dollar to $9.1 billion, or $80 per share, up from $78.50 per share in its previous offer. Dollar General also warned that it would attempt a hostile bid if Family Dollar refused to enter into talks regarding the new offer.

The Family Dollar board is under new pressure to walk away from a deal with Dollar Tree after Dollar General further increased an already more generous counter offer.

Early Monday Dollar General increased its all cash offer to $80 a share from $78.50 a share and increased the number of stores it said it would be willing to divest to 1,500 from 700. The company also said it would be willing to pay Family Dollar a $500 million reverse break-up if the deal failed to secure antitrust clearance.

Broad-line retailer Alco’s shareholders have replaced the company’s board of directors with seven new members, effective immediately. The elections were made at the company’s annual meeting of stockholders in Dallas late last week.

Fred’s second-quarter results reflected the company’s strategic decision to build its business model for the future as a convenience/pharmacy-centric store, driven by data-based inventory management, according to CEO Bruce Efird.

The company reported a net loss of $16.4 million for the quarter. Fred's total sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2014 increased 2% to $491.2 million. On a comparable-store basis, second-quarter sales decreased 0.1%.

Chicago -- Pine Tree Commercial Realty has acquired Poplar-Prairie Stone Crossing, a class-A power shopping center located in the Northwest Chicago suburb of Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The recent acquisition is Pine Tree’s 70th and brings the company’s current portfolio to 3.4 million sq. ft. in 19 separate properties.

The 312,000-sq.-ft. shopping center is shadow-anchored by Target and features TJ Maxx, Michaels, Ross Dress for Less, PetSmart, Lane Bryant, and Sports Authority.

Orlando, Fla. -- JLL continues to build its retail brokerage practice in Florida with the addition of Andrew Dieringer, Terrence Hart and Brandon Delanois. The trio bring more than 40 years of retail agency leasing and tenant representation experience to the team, and will be based in the firm’s Orlando office. Together, they will partner with John Lambert, Florida Retail Market Lead for JLL, and Justin Greider, VP of JLL, to help investors achieve their asset goals and work with retailers to identify and secure optimal new locations.

San Antonio, Texas - Tryperion Partners, a private real estate investment firm, has acquired Gateway Plaza, a 97% occupied, 138,510-sq.-ft. community shopping center anchored by Burlington Coat Factory that is located in San Antonio’s burgeoning metropolitan area. The acquisition, which is Tryperion’s second of a San Antonio REO property in less than a year, includes additional land for future development.
 

Peoria, Ill. -- Cullinan Properties announced that Prasino Restaurant at the Streets of St. Charles near St. Louis is in the process of securing new ownership by a group of investors.

Prasino opened at the Streets of St. Charles on April 22, 2013, and has been listed as “The Best New Restaurants in St. Louis” and awarded “A-List Breakfast Winner” for its Paris Benedict, by St. Louis Magazine.

Chicago -- JLL has bolstered its tenant representation practice with the addition of Jason Press as VP in the firm’s Chicago office, working on the team lead by executive VP Lew Kornberg.

Press joins JLL with more than 15 years of real estate experience facilitating hundreds of transactions valued in excess of $500 million. Prior to JLL, he co-founded North Park Properties to acquire investment properties in the Chicagoland area.