Mergers & Acquisitions

New York -- Why do dark horse companies win -- and how do they win?

That topic is the focus of a new book by sales strategist and Elevation Forum founder Dan Mack: “Dark Horse: How Challenger Companies Rise to Prominence.” 

The best leaders and companies bring more than unique products or services to the market -- they consistently tap into the 10 key growth enablers Mack outlines in his book.

Dallas — Corner Bakery Café ended 2013 with a multi-unit restaurant development agreement to open eight new restaurants in the Sacramento area with a new franchise partner, East Bay restaurants of Pleasanton, Calif.

East Bay owns and operates 48 Burger King and seven Taco Bell restaurants. The group of veteran restaurant operators plans to open its first Corner Bakery in 2014 and the remaining seven over the next five years.

Dallas -- Corner Bakery Cafe rounded out 2013 with a multi-unit restaurant development agreement and plans to open eight new restaurants in the Sacramento area with new franchise partner East Bay Restaurants, Pleasanton, Calif.

East Bay Restaurants, which owns and operates 48 Burger King and seven Taco Bell restaurants, plans to open its first cafe in 2014 and the remaining sites over the next five years.

Overstock.com has reason to celebrate after a district court in Salt Lake City, Utah, ruled in the online retailer’s favor, denying breach of contract and other claims for damages of $1.7 million.

The company said that in Haddadin v. Overstock, two brothers asserted they were entitled to damages of $1.7 million, plus future royalties, when the it contracted with Ed and Ayman Haddadin for the creation of an auto sales store on the e-tailer's website.

Armonk, N.Y. – IBM plans to commit more than $1.2 billion to significantly expand its global cloud footprint. This investment includes a network of data centers designed to bring clients greater flexibility, transparency and control of how they manage their data, run their businesses and deploy their IT operations in the cloud.

Woonsocket, R.I. – CVS Caremark has completed the acquisition of Coram LLC, the specialty infusion services and enteral nutrition business unit of Apria Healthcare Group Inc. Coram cares for approximately 165,000 patients annually and has 4,600 employees, including 600 nurses, 350 pharmacists and 250 dietitians, operating primarily through 85 branch locations and six centers of excellence for patient intake.

Albertsons has confirmed that it plans to close 26 locations.

“This is part of our typical review cycle, and after reviewing store performance, we determined that these stores could not be positioned for future profitability, with the exception of the two stores in Acme that were closed for underperformance. The two Acme stores were closed because the leases are expiring,” the company said in a statement sent to sister publication Drug Store News.

Chattanooga, Tenn. — CBL & Associates Properties has announced future redevelopment and replacement plans for J.C. Penney anchor locations in the CBL portfolio that are expected to close this year.

J.C. Penney intends to close four locations in the CBL portfolio. They include stores at Hickory Point Mall in Forsyth, Ill., Janesville Mall in Janesville, Wis., Wausau Center in Wausau, Wis., and Northgate Mall in Chattanooga, Tenn. CBL anticipates the closures to occur in the second quarter of this year.