Mergers & Acquisitions

New York - Saks Fifth Avenue has named Tracy Margolies as chief merchant, effective May 11, 2015. Margolies will drive the strategic direction and performance of all buying activities for Saks, and will report to Marc Metrick, president of Saks Fifth Avenue.

Margolies rejoins Saks Fifth Avenue after serving as senior VP and general merchandise manager, beauty, contemporary 5F, footwear and handbags at Bergdorf Goodman. Previously, Margolies spent seven years at Saks as VP, division merchandise manager, women's footwear.

Former Walmart CEO and current board member Mike Duke is the newest operating executive at the Carlyle Group, which suggests the pace of deal-making activity in the retail and consumer packaged goods world could be about to heat up.

Brooklyn, N.Y. – Etsy Inc., the online marketplace for handmade arts, crafts and clothing, has gone public with a bang. Shares opened on Thursday at $31 a share, almost twice their initial public offering price. As of April 16, Etsy is trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol “ETSY.”

After the offering, the total number of shares outstanding will be 110.9 million. Based on the opening price, Etsy is valued at over $3.7 billion.

Deerfield, Ill. - Walgreens Boots Alliance is ahead of schedule in its synergy efforts since Walgreens and Boots officially merged in December 2014. At its 2015 Analyst Day in New York City, the retailer’s leadership team outlined plans to support the customer experience in its Retail Pharmacy USA division with investments in key operational efficiencies such as IT systems, modernizing pharmacies and investing in customer care.

Shares of Party City enjoyed a nice first-day pop on April 16 after the company completed its initial public stock offering.

A total of 21,875,000 shares were priced at $17 in the offering and began trading at $20.15. By the end of the first day’s trading, shares had advanced $3.70 to close up 21.8% at $20.70. The company’s ticker symbol is PRTY.

Canton, Mass. – Dunkin’ Donuts has signed a multi-unit store development agreement with new franchise group Legacy Concepts LLC to develop 10 new restaurants in Minneapolis and the surrounding areas of Bloomington, Edina, Eden Prairie and the communities west of the metro area. The first restaurant is planned to open by the end of 2015.

Smart & Final’s largest shareholder has further reduced its ownership stake in the profitable and growing company by 10 million shares, but still maintains majority control as the retailer pursues ambitious plans in 2015.

Commerce, Calif. - Smart & Final Stores Inc. is pricing an underwritten public offering of 10 million shares of its common stock at $18.50 per share. The shares are owned by certain stockholders of the company, including affiliates of Ares Management L.P.