Mergers & Acquisitions

Roanoke, Va. -- Advance Auto Parts beat Wall Street projections with a 19% profit increase in the second quarter – from $116.9 million last year to $139.5 million.

The acquisition of General Parts drove sales up 52%, to $2.35 billion, from $1.55 billion in the same quarter last year. Wall Street anticipated $2.32 billion.

"We remain on pace against our base business expectations, integration milestones and with our financial performance,” said Advance CEO Darren Jackson.

Gainesville, Fla. -- Hip hotel brand Hotel Indigo has inked a deal to open a 120-room boutique property at mixed-use project Celebration Pointe, in Gainesville, Florida. The InterContinental Hotel Group’s banner will bring boutique style to a neighborhood that has garnered attention for its urban style, featuring a pedestrian-friendly atmosphere, inspired architectural features and abundant green space.

Dallas – Net loss at specialty jewelry retailer DSGE Inc. roughly tripled to $4.45 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2014 from $1.12 million in the same period a year earlier. Writeoffs related to the closure of DSGE’s Southern Bullion banner drove the net loss increase.

Brampton, Canada – Loblaw Companies Ltd. has named Pavi Binning as a director to its board. Binning currently serves as the president of food processing company George Weston Ltd. and has been a director of George Weston Ltd. since 2012.

Loblaw has appointed Pavi Binning, George Weston Limited president, as a director on the company’s board.

Binning has been a director of George Weston Limited since 2012. He joined the company in 2010 as CFO after spending a year as a director of Loblaw Companies Limited. Prior to joining Weston, Binning was at Nortel Networks Corporation, where he held the role of CFO and subsequently chief restructuring officer. Prior to that, Binning held CFO positions at both Hanson plc and Marconi Corporation plc, as well as executive positions at Diageo plc.

Advance Auto Parts demonstrated strength in its second quarter performance in one of the retail industry’s hottest sectors.

Following Walgreens' announcement last week about taking the next step in acquiring Alliance Boots, Alex Gourlay, EVP Walgreens Boots Alliance and president of Walgreens, announced changes in the company's operational organization structure in a letter to Walgreens employees.
 

Nordstrom’s second quarter earnings were in line with its expectations. The results come two weeks after the company said it was acquiring Trunk Club, a men’s personalized clothing service, for $350 million.

Profit for the quarter remained flat compared to last year’s second quarter at $183 million. Net sales for the quarter were $3.3 billion, a 6.2% increase from $3.1 billion in the prior-year quarter. Comparable sales increased 3.3%.

Atlanta - Supply chain commerce solutions provider Manhattan Associates Inc. has acquired the assets of POS and clienteling applications provider GlobalBay Technologies from VeriFone. The acquisition extends Manhattan’s omnichannel inventory and order management solutions by enabling in-store sales and clienteling capabilities.

VeriFone’s GlobalBay Merchant solution, targeted to small retailers, will be retained by VeriFone and rebranded in the coming months. Financial terms of the transaction will not be disclosed.

Tampa, Fla. -- Burger 21, founded by the owners of The Melting Pot Restaurants, has executed its first franchise agreement in Michigan, under which a debut restaurant in Ann Arbor will open summer 2015.

Additionally, the company signed two franchise agreements for single units in Ocala, Florida, and Raleigh, North Carolina. The new deals are part of the fast-casual concept's growth strategy to expand its presence in new and existing markets nationwide.

To date, Burger 21 has 13 open locations and 25 franchised restaurants in development.