Mergers & Acquisitions

Hampstead, Md. — Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. is buying the parent company of Eddie Bauer in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $825 million. The deal is the latest chapter in Jos A. Bank’s ongoing takeover battle with Men’s Wearhouse. Last fall, Jos. B. Bank tried and failed to buy rival Men’s Wearhouse for $2.3 billion. Men’s Wearhouse then began pursuing Jos. A. Bank.

New York — Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten Inc. will buy messaging app provider Viber Media Inc. for $900 million. Rakuten, which is also a major investor in Pinterest and owner of U.S. online retailer Play.com, seeks to use Viber as a platform for both mobile shopping and content consumption, according to the Associated Press.

Rakuten offers services from financing to shopping to online video on its e-commerce platform, the largest in Japan.

Weis Markets has named Jonathan Weis as president and CEO. Weis will retain his role as company vice chairman.

Weis has been serving as the company's interim CEO. In his new role, Weis will oversee all aspects of the company's retail, supply chain, merchandising, human resources, information technology, finance, real estate and manufacturing operations.

Jos. A. Bank is in the process of acquiring Everest Topco, a portfolio company of Golden Gate and parent company of the Eddie Bauer brand.

The purchase price for Eddie Bauer consists of a combination of $564 million in cash and approximately 4.7 million new shares of common stock of Jos. A. Bank, issued to Everest Topco at $56 per share, a premium to the pre-announcement share price.

Pittsburgh — GNC Holdings Inc. reported positive financial performance during the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2013. For the quarter, net income slightly rose to $47.7 million from $47.4 million in the same period the prior year.

In addition, the chain reported consolidated revenue of $613.7 million for the quarter, an increase of 8.6% from $565 million from the year-ago period. Same-store sales increased 5% in domestic corporate stores and 3.3% in domestic franchise stores.

Sporting equipment and apparel manufacturer Bauer Performance Sports expanded its product offering in the baseball and softball world with the acquisition of those businesses from Easton-Bell Sports.

Bauer agreed to pay Easton-Bell Sports $330 million for Easton’s baseball and softball business in a deal that adds the well known Easton brand to Bauer’s existing stable of brands such as Bauer, Mission, Maverik, Cascade, Inaria and Combat.

Whole Foods Market said total sales for the first quarter ended Jan. 19 climbed 10% to a record $4.2 billion. But those results reportedly missed analysts’ expectations, and the company has lowered its earnings outlook for 2014 as a result.

Momentum at Whole Foods — as well as shares — slipped. Comparable store sales for the quarter increased 5.4%, compared to a 7.2% increase in the prior year.

Plano, Texas — J. C. Penney Company, Inc. has named Ed Record executive VP and CFO, effective March 24. He will succeed Ken Hannah, who will remain CFO through that date to ensure a smooth transition.

As CFO, Record will be responsible for the financial operations of the company. He will report to Myron E. (Mike) Ullman III, CEO of J.C. Penney, and join the company`s executive board.