Mergers & Acquisitions

General Mills has inaugurated its first innovation, technology and quality center in China — part of its efforts to drive greater innovation and investment in one of its largest growth markets.  

Indianapolis – Simon has named retail and real estate executive Stephen Yalof as CEO of premium outlets and senior executive VP of Simon. Yalof has served as senior VP of real estate for Ralph Lauren Corp. since 2002.
 
His 15 years of experience within the retail industry also includes his role as senior director of real estate for Gap. Yalof began his career in real estate at New Plan Realty Trust, and became VP of leasing for their factory outlet business. 

Union, N.J. - Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. has priced three series of senior unsecured notes for an aggregate principal amount of $1.5 billion. Of these notes, $300 million will mature in August 2024, $300 million will mature in August 2034, and $900 million will mature in August 2044.

The offering is expected to close, subject to normal closing conditions, on July 17, 2014. The company intends to use the proceeds from this offering for share repurchases of its common stock and for general corporate purposes.

New York -- The daily-deals website LivingSocial on Tuesday named Gautam Thakar, a longtime eBay executive, as its incoming president and CEO. Thakar heads the e-commerce giant's Shopping.com price comparison site.

He will replace co-founder and outgoing CEO Tim O’Shaughnessy by mid-August.

Simon, a global leader in retail real estate, has appointed retail and real estate executive Stephen Yalof as CEO of premium outlets and senior EVP of Simon.

Yalof has served as SVP of real estate for Ralph Lauren Corporation since 2002. His 15 years of experience within the retail industry also includes his role as senior director of real estate for Gap. Yalof began his career in real estate under the leadership of Arnold Labich at New Plan Realty Trust, and became VP of leasing for their factory outlet business.  

Chesapeake, Va. - Randy Guiler has joined Dollar Tree Inc. as VP, investor relations. Guiler, 49, is joining Dollar Tree after nearly 15 years with Tractor Supply Company, including leading Tractor Supply’s investor relations efforts for the past 10 years.

Prior to his role as VP, investor relations & corporate communications, Guiler also had responsibility for Tractor Supply’s treasury and risk management functions. Guiler will succeed Timothy Reid, 61, who is retiring.

Plano, Texas – Mindy Grossman, the chief executive of HSN Inc., reportedly declined an offer to become CEO of J.C. Penney Company in May 2014. According to the Wall Street Journal, Grossman had been in advanced negotiations with Penney to take the reins as CEO but discussions ended for an unspecified reason.

San Jose, Calif. - EBay and Sotheby’s are developing an online platform designed to make it easier for consumers to discover, browse and acquire exceptional works of art, antiques and collectibles. EBay and Sotheby’s will start by offering a number of live auctions that are taking place at Sotheby’s headquarters in New York.