Mergers & Acquisitions

Oak Brook, Ill. — Inland Real Estate Corporation has announced the acquisition of Mokena Marketplace in Mokena, Ill., an affluent suburb located within the Chicago metropolitan area for $13.7 million in cash.

New York -- Discount supermarket operator Aldi has acquired a 55-acre site in Moreno Valley, Calif., on which it will build its Southern California regional headquarters. The planned 800,000-sq.-ft. facility would serve as Aldi’s West Coast regional office and distribution center as it looks to expand into the Southern California market.

In December, Aldi announced plans to open 650 stores in the United States during the next five years.

After a strong start to the holiday season, harsh weather took a toll on Jos. A. Bank which reported solid profit growth and a 1.8% same store sales increase during what is likely to be one of the company’s final earnings reports as a public company.

Hampstead, Md. – Jos. A. Bank Clothiers posted a profit of $27.4 million for the fourth quarter, down from $28.4 million in the year-ago period. The retailer’s earnings were impacted by legal and professional costs related to its upcoming acquisition by The Men’s Wearhouse and other strategic moves.

Premium denim brand True Religion named former top executives from Levi Strauss & Co., and Gap inc., to its board of directors.

The purveyor of premium products said John Anderson and Marka Hansen agreed to serve on its board. Anderson spent 32 years at Levi Strauss & Co, ultimately serving as president and CEO while Hansen previously spent 24 years at Gap and most recently served as president of Gap North America.

Talk of nearshoring and a resurgent U.S. manufacturing sector weren’t enough to help the Stanley Furniture Company avoid shuttering a domestic manufacturing plant that employs 400 people.

Following steep losses last year, Stanley said it would close its 562,000-sq.-ft. facility in Robbinsville, NC., where ironically enough the company’s Young America line of Juvenile furniture was manufactured.

Houston -- Cardtronics, the world’s largest retail ATM owner, has extended its ATM services agreement with Walgreens. Cardtronics is a preferred provider of ATM services for Walgreens. Since the relationship began in 2004, Cardtronics has grown its ATM presence in Walgreens locations significantly — from fewer than 400 initially to roughly 3,250 today.

Brussels, Belgium -- Delhaize Group has signed an agreement with Tropic Group B.V. to divest all of its 39 Bosnian & Herzegovinian stores. Tropic Group B.V. is an entrepreneurial organization founded by retail executive Bojan Risović.

The transaction is expected to complete in third quarter 2014, subject to regulatory approval and working capital adjustments. Terms were not disclosed. Delhaize originally purchased the stores from Serbian retailer Delta Maxi in 2011.