Mergers & Acquisitions

Youngstown, Ohio — AVI Foodsystems and Cafaro Co. have teamed to bring Bob Evans Farms into the mall food court environment.

Warren, Ohio-based AVI collaborated with Bob Evans Farms to introduce Bob Evans Express, which scales down the traditional Bob Evans restaurant into a concept that works in venues such as workplace cafes, airports, travel plazas and universities.

San Jose, Calif. – PayPal is rebranding its Bill Me Later online credit service as PayPal Credit. PayPal says it is making the name change as it moves credit more towards the center of our business, aligning it more closely with the overall brand.

In addition, PayPal plans to introduce PayPal Credit to the U.K. and Germany, based on requests from customers and retailers. The company also plans to expand PayPal Credit to other markets in the future.

Seattle – Amazon.com is making a serious bid to control the Indian e-commerce market with a planned $2 billion investment in its Indian operation. In a statement emailed to major U.S. media outlets, Amazon said it sees “huge potential” in India’s economy and e-commerce market.

Laval, Canada - Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. will acquire 55 Super Pantry convenience stores and related assets from Tri Star Marketing Inc. Fifty-one of the stores are located in the state of Illinois ,and four stores located in the state of Indiana. These stores offer Phillips 66 and Mobil branded motor fuel.

Philadelphia – Net income at Destination Maternity Corp. fell 36% to $5.5 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014 from $8.6 million a year earlier. Expenses related to the planned relocation of Destination Maternity’s corporate headquarters and distribution facilities, as well as costs related to its proposed and withdrawn merger with Mothercare plc, drove the reduction in net income.

New York — Nordstrom has announced plans to open a Nordstrom Rack at the Empire Outlets in Staten Island. The 34,000-sq.-ft. store is scheduled to open in fall 2016. The property is being developed by BFC Partners.

Atlanta -- First Data has taken a key step toward expanding its payment services by acquiring Gyft Inc., the Silicon Valley-based company that entered the $100 billion gift card market in 2012 and pioneered the concept of a mobile wallet for gift cards.

Washington, D.C. – The National Retail Federation (NRF) is highly critical of a decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recommending that McDonald’s and its franchisees should be considered joint employers. According to the NRF, this move would stall job growth and diminish capital investment by making it easier for fast food workers to unionize.