Mergers & Acquisitions

Since Office Depot completed its merger transaction with OfficeMax Nov. 5, 2013, the company has been aggressively executing its integration plan. The company’s fourth quarter results for the period ended Dec. 28, 2013 include OfficeMax’s operations, which generated $939 million of sales.

London -- Interbrand announced that it has acquired one of the United Kingdom’s leading international retail design consultancies, HMKM. The move, which recognizes the importance of brand experience in an increasing digital and omnichannel retail environment, brings together two highly complementary companies, uniquely prepared to meet the challenges of the current retail landscape, Interbrand said.

Austin, Texas — CBRE has announced three more Austin-area locations for local fast casual restaurant VERTS, bringing its store count to 10. In 2014, VERTS plans to open 13 new locations, including expansions into Dallas and Houston.

The newest locations are in North Austin. Locations in Round Rock and Cedar Park will open in the next two months.

Revlon has appointed Gianni Pieraccioni as EVP and global president of the Revlon consumer division and Sennen Pamich as EVP and global president of the Revlon professional division. The announcement comes as Chris Elshaw, Revlon’s EVP and COO, makes his exit.

Houston - Concerned Pantry Shareholders (CPS), a group led by JCP Investment Management LLC and Lone Star Value Management LLC, together a significant shareholder of The Pantry Inc. has sent an open letter to the shareholders of The Pantry. The letter highlights what CPS terms the prolonged underperformance at The Pantry and the critical need for significant change in the company's board of directors.

Jacksonville, Fla. -- Stein Mart plans to open 10 new stores this year as part of the company's largest store expansion since 2007.

The expansions begin with new locations in the Miami, Washington, D.C., and Las Vegas areas set to open this spring. This year's new store openings will bring the company's total nationwide store count to more than 270.

The announcement of this expansion follows the company's fiscal 2013 same-store sales growth of 3.7%.

AB Acquisition LLC, which operates Albertson’s LLC and New Albertson’s Inc., has appointed Rick Navarro, who had been the company’s CFO since its inception in 2006, as chief administrative officer. Succeeding Navarro as the company’s CFO is former Nash Finch executive Robert Dimond.

In his new role, Navarro will oversee the IT, legal, business development, human resources and public affairs functions.

New York -- Bi-Lo Holdings and Delhaize Group have received approval from the Federal Trade Commission to proceed with the transaction in which Bi-Lo Holdings will acquire substantially all of the stores in Delhaize’s Sweetbay, Harveys and Reid’s supermarket chains. As part of the deal, Bi-Lo agreed to divest 12 Delhaize America stores in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, and Delhaize Group agreed to retain two stores that were initially part of the deal.