Mergers & Acquisitions

GE Capital is providing MerchSource with a $130 million senior credit facility providing working capital for the company’s operations in the U.S. and Hong Kong.
 
MerchSource, headquartered in Irvine, California, ideates, designs, develops and distributes a variety of consumer products in categories including electronics, toys, home décor, household accessories and pet supplies. Its products are sold in retailers such as Bed Bath & Beyond, CVS, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Target, Walgreens and Wal-Mart.
 

Supervalu has begun supplying the first of 18 Rainbow stores that are being acquired as part of the transactions that were announced May 7 between Roundy’s and a consortium of Supervalu and independent retailers.

Following the store conversions, Supervalu will supply all 18 of the acquired stores out of its Hopkins, Minn., distribution center.
 

Unilever has sold its Slim-Fast brand to Kainos Capital. The supplier of food, home and personal care products will retain a minority stake in the business. Terms of the transaction, which was completed late this week, were not disclosed.

The transaction includes the Slim-Fast trademark and the global Slim-Fast business portfolio. Slim-Fast is sold throughout North America and in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Latham, New York -- DWM Facilities Maintenance announces today the promotion of Paul Meeks to executive VP of projects.  Meeks was an integral part of founding DWM with his brother David and has been with the company since its inception in 1997.

Drawbridge, a leading cross-device advertising platform, has added former Apple exec Andy Miller to its board of directors.

Miller is a current adviser and the former president and COO of Leap Motion, as well as a former Partner at Highland Capital. Previously, Miller was VP of mobile advertising at Apple, reporting directly to Steve Jobs. He was co-founder and CEO of Quattro Wireless, which was acquired by Apple in 2009 and would become Apple's mobile advertising platform, iAd.

Edison, N.J. -- Kevin Mead, the former senior VP, director of Stores for The Children's Place, has joined the senior team at Aerosoles as executive VP, retail reporting directly to CEO Jules Schneider. Mead will lead the strategic direction, ongoing expansion and operations of Aerosoles retail and outlet locations.

New York – Bebe Store Inc. has named Seth Johnson, Blair Lambert and Brett Brewer to replace Caden Wang, Barbara Bass and Cynthia Cohen on the company’s board of directors, effective immediately. Johnson previously served as CEO of Pacific Sunwear of California Inc.

Johnson also served as COO and CFO of Abercrombie and Fitch. Prior to joining Abercrombie and Fitch he held positions at The Limited Inc., Batus Retail Group, Conoco, and Dayton Hudson (now known as Target).

RPM International’s Rust-Oleum Group has acquired Krud Kutter, a marketer of specialty cleaning products for both residential and industrial markets. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Krud Kutter specializes in problem-solving cleaners and removers, which are, according to the company, water-based, biodegradable, nontoxic and VOC compliant. The brand is sold across the country in home centers, hardware stores, mass merchants and industrial supply outlets.