Mergers & Acquisitions

Toronto - Loblaw Companies Ltd., owner of the Joe Fresh brand, has promoted Mario Grauso to president of Joe Fresh. He was previously COO of the brand.

In his new role, Grauso oversees business strategy, operations, marketing, international development, merchandising, sourcing and design functions at Joe Fresh.

Mahwah, N.J. - Dirk Montgomery, executive VP and CFO of Ascena Retail Group Inc. since January 2013, has accepted a position with a healthcare-related company based in Florida. Ascena has initiated a search process for a new CFO.

Montgomery has agreed to remain through the end of the summer. Randy Pearce, a member of Ascena’s board of directors, chair of the Audit Committee, and former CFO of Regis Corp. from 1998 to 2011, will increase his involvement in overseeing the company’s finance department during the transition.

Stamford, Conn. -- General Electric is spinning off its Synchrony Financial consumer credit business in an initial public offering (IPO) and seeking a market valuation as high as $22 billion. Synchrony offers store credit cards for retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and J.C. Penney Co.

Former CVS, Macys and Sears executive Mark Cosby has a new role at Office Depot where he will serve as president of the company’s North American business.

Loblaw, owner of the Joe Fresh brand, has promoted Mario Grauso to president of Joe Fresh. He was previously chief operating officer of the brand.

Grauso will continue to report to Joe Mimran, president of Joseph Mimran & Associates and creative director of Joe Fresh. In his new role, Grauso oversees business strategy, operations, marketing, international development, merchandising, sourcing and design functions at Joe Fresh.

Newell Rubbermaid has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Ignite Holdings from North Castle Partners, a leading private equity firm focused on consumer businesses that promote healthy, active and sustainable living.

Imagine a lifelong Procter & Gamble employee suddenly named CEO of Walmart and that is essentially what happened at leading global retail Tesco where the company has named long time Unilever executive Dave Lewis as its next CEO.

Tantrum Street has added Roman Kikta, managing partner and founder of Mobility Ventures, to its board, where he will provide strategic guidance for the retail technology startup as it rolls out its Cartwheel Register mobile checkout app and Skip Wallet digital wallet app to the North American market.

Maywood, Calif. -- CBRE senior VP Philip D. Voorhees announced that he, Jimmy Slusher and the National Retail Investment Group – West (NRIG-West) team, along with CBRE’s managing director, Richard Rizika, completed the sale of Maywood Village Square, a 48,324-sq.-ft. convenience strip center located in Maywood, California. The center is anchored by O’Reilly Auto Parts and features Subway, U.S. Bank, Yoshinoya, Western Dental Services and a new Fitness 19 health club.

Topeka, Kan. -- Mid-America Real Estate Corporation’s Investment Sales team recently brokered the sale of Wanamaker Shopping Center in Topeka, Kansas.  The regional shopping center was purchased for $18 million by Fort Wayne, Indiana-based Equity Investment Group.

The 269,875-sq.-ft. center is anchored by Big Kmart, Hobby Lobby, and Bed Bath & Beyond.