Mergers & Acquisitions

New York -- Lululemon Athletica Inc.’s founder, Dennis "Chip" Wilson, reached an agreement to sell half his stake in the women's yoga-wear company to Advent International of Boston for $845 million. The deal will give Advent, which owned shares of Lululemon from 2005 to 2009 and was one of the company's early venture capital backers, 20.1 million shares, or 13.9% of the company (Lululemon went public in 2009). It also gives Advent two seats on the board, including Advent's managing partner David Mussafer, who will become co-chairman of the retailer.

Redmond, Wash. – Microsoft Corp. is reportedly negotiating to open a new store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. According to the New York Daily News, the site is only a few blocks from Apple’s large “glass cube” store in New York.

Miami Beach, Fla. -- Terranova Corp. and Acadia Realty Trust have reportedly agreed to sell six retail buildings on Lincoln Road in Miami for $342 million. According to the Miami Herald, the buildings were purchased for a combined $191 million in 2011 and 2012, marking a $151 million profit in a few years.

Tenants include Starbucks, Fossil, and A/X Armani Jeans. The deal is with an unnamed institutional investor and is not yet completed. It ranks as the most expensive retail real estate transaction in Miami history.

Corpus Christi, Texas – Susser Holdings Corp. reported net income of $12.3 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2014, compared to a net loss of $4.3 million in the same quarter a year earlier. The elimination of a debt refinancing charge helped bring Susser back to profitability.

Susser plans to open 17 new Stripes convenience stores by the end of the year. The company also is is on track to merge with Dallas-based natural gas and propane company Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) in the third quarter of fiscal 2014.

Big name CPG companies Procter & Gamble and Kraft struggled to show growth with their recent quarterly results, but that wasn’t the case at White Wave Foods.

Milwaukee – Costs related to the exit of its Rainbow business in the Twin Cities markets, as well as the upcoming closure of a distribution center, helped push Roundy’s Inc. to a net loss in the second quarter of fiscal 2014. Roundy’s reported a net loss of $13.5 million, compared to net income of $11.6 million.

Net sales from continuing operations for second quarter 2014 were $971.9 million, an increase of 12% from $868.3 million for second quarter 2013. Same-store sales dropped 2.2%.

Sales at Coupons.com surged 32% in the second quarter, but the digital coupon provider reported an increased loss as stock-based compensation expenses ate into profits.

Total revenue increased 32% to $51.7 compared to $39.1 million while the company reported a loss of $6.9 million, $6.7 million of which was related to stock-based compensation, compared to a prior year loss of $2.9 million. On an adjusted basis, the company said profits increased to $3.7 million from a $100,000 profit the prior year.

Snyder’s-Lance is promising an innovation filled product pipeline for 2015 that includes meal-replacement snacks to drive growth for retailers following a pivotal second quarter for the company.