Mergers & Acquisitions

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings announced today that Kristin M. Coleman will join the company as senior VP, general counsel and corporate secretary. Coleman most recently served as Brunswick Corporation's VP, general counsel and corporate secretary.

Coleman will be responsible for the oversight and leadership of Sears Holdings' legal business.

New York – In a regulatory filing, PetSmart disclosed that its board of directors is considering changes to the company’s capital structure in order to return more capital to shareholders. The disclosure follows a July 3 announcement by activist investor Jana Partners that it holds a 9.9% stake in PetSmart and plans to ask the retailer to explore various options, including a sale.

Sears Holdings has named Kristin M. Coleman as SVP, general counsel and corporate secretary. Coleman most recently served as Brunswick Corporation's VP, general counsel and corporate secretary.

Colorado Springs, Colo. -- Accellos and HighJump Software, each global providers of supply chain management software and trading partner network technology, have agreed to merge, creating a vendor with 11,000 customers in 23 countries with operations in North America, Asia and Europe. The combination of Accellos and HighJump brings together a set of technologies, including networked trading partner connectivity, warehouse management, transportation management, and route delivery.

By Jason Baker and Kenneth Katz, co-founders and principals, Baker Katz

Amazon is expanding its organic and non-GMO natural food offering with the addition of Green PolkaDot Box Incorporated (GPDB), an emerging online food club.

The agreement between the companies is intended to take advantage of strategic food offerings developed by GPDB, including frozen/refrigerated goods and proprietary Living Produce. GPDB sales are scheduled to commence on Amazon this week.  

New York -- The heat is on — in more ways than one. While Target’s search for a new chief executive has been much in the news, the discounter is not the only big retailer on the hunt for a chief executive. Here’s a brief review (all dates are 2014 except where noted):

Menlo Park, Calif. – Facebook has agreed to acquire LiveRail, an advertising technology company that helps companies serve better ads in the videos that appear on their websites and apps. LiveRail, founded in 2007, also provides marketers with access to premium video inventory and data to help decide where to show their ads.