Mergers & Acquisitions

Boca Raton, Fla. - Jeffrey Smith, CEO of investment firm Starboard Value LLP, has resigned from Office Depot’s board of directors, effective immediately. The nominating and governance committee will commence a search for a replacement.

Smith, who joined the board in August 2013 to help Office Depot smoothly transition to a new combined company with OfficeMax and find a new CEO, said he is leaving because he is satisfied that Office Depot has reached both goals.

Barnes and Noble continues to narrow its losses. In the first quarter of fiscal 2015, the company’s comparable sales were bolstered by improving physical book industry trends, merchandising initiatives and store promotions.

Rakuten has confirmed that it is in the process of acquiring Ebates, a provider of the largest cash-back shopping website in North America, for a total consideration of $1 billion in cash and will hold 100% of Ebates’ outstanding voting stock.

Chesapeake, Va. -- Dollar Tree Inc. and Family Dollar Stores Inc. announced, as expected, they have received a second request for information from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in connection with Dollar Tree's pending $8.5 billion deal to acquire Family Dollar.

Plano, Texas – J.C. Penney Company Inc. is raising capital by selling $350 million worth of senior notes due in 2019. The proceeds will mostly be used by pay off fees and expenses related to previous senior notes offering coming due in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

RetailMeNot, a leading marketplace for digital offers, has added Eric Korman to its board of directors.

Korman recently served as president of Ralph Lauren's digital and global e-commerce division, where he was responsible for the company's digital businesses, marketing and operations, across all markets. In addition to leading the digital division, Korman is credited with establishing and managing Ralph Lauren's customer intelligence and experience management group, a global enterprise function supporting all global business channels.

New York -- Barnes & Noble Inc. on Tuesday reported a smaller-than-expected loss of $28.4 million in its fiscal first quarter, down from $87 million a share, a year earlier. The chain has been cutting spending in its Nook e-reader division and moving toward a spinoff of the business.

Revenue fell 7% to $1.24 billion, including a 5.3% drop at the company’s retail segment.

Canton, Mass. – Baskin-Robbins is expanding its footprint in Southern California with both existing and new franchisees from San Diego to Bakersfield, California. Existing Baskin-Robbins shops also are available throughout Southern California.