Mergers & Acquisitions

Moorseville, N.C. - Lowe's Companies Inc. has appointed James H. Morgan, 67, to the company's board, effective immediately. Today's announcement brings Lowe's board of directors to 12 members, 11 of whom are independent.

Berkeley, Calif. -- Donahue Schriber Realty Group acquired Gilman Village on January 30, marking the Costa Mesa, California-based company’s second Bay Area acquisition in the past month.

Besides the Gilman Village acquisition in Berkeley, California, Donahue Schriber purchased Village Oaks shopping center, a 320,000-sq.-ft. property anchored by Target and Safeway located in San Jose, California.

Target may not have been very successful in Canada, but the retailer has an altogether different strategy for the United States, where it will open 15 stores in 2015.

Target says it plans to open more small store formats than suburban big box stores this year.

The Minneapolis-based retailer will bring its smallest store, TargetExpress, which at 20,000 square feet is about a sixth of the size of its traditional big box stores, to two more metropolitan areas this year with one store slated for Chicago and two for the Washington, D.C., area.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. –  As part of a 2014 announcement in which Sears Holdings Corp. said it had entered into lease agreements with European fashion retailer Primark for seven standalone stores in the Northeastern United States, the retailer said that two of these seven locations will be at Danbury Fair in Danbury, Connecticut; and Freehold Raceway Mall in Freehold, New Jersey.  

Dick’s Sporting Goods is expanding the responsibilities of its CFO.

The company says that in addition to serving as EVP/CFO, Andre J. Hawaux has been appointed as executive vice president, chief operating officer. In addition to his existing responsibilities for finance, legal and information technology, Hawaux will also oversee store operations, real estate and human resources.

Fort Worth, Texas – Hedge fund Standard General LP is reportedly arranging to act as the lead “stalking horse” bidder for troubled electronics retailer RadioShack Corp. According to the Wall Street Journal, Standard General, which is RadioShack’s largest shareholder and has already provided financing that allowed RadioShack to operate through 2014, is currently negotiating a stalking horse deal with the company.

Boise, Idaho - Albertsons LLC and Safeway Inc. have completed their proposed merger, ending a nearly year-long process that began in March 2014. AB Acquisition LLC, the owner of Albertson's and New Albertson's, Inc., will acquire all outstanding shares of Safeway.

The merger will create a diversified network that includes 2,230 stores, 27 distribution facilities and 19 manufacturing plants with more than 250,000 employees across 34 states and the District of Columbia.

New York -- Jones New York announced that it will close its 127 outlet stores and discontinue its wholesale business over the course of 2015.

The company said that it made the decision after a review of recent performance and outlook. Jones also said it will pursue strategic alternatives for the brand, which has long been a staple in mid-priced department stores. Its appeal, however, faded in recent years as department stores expanded their private label offerings.