Mergers & Acquisitions

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart Stores said Mike Duke will retire as president and CEO, effective Feb. 1, 2014, and will be replaced by veteran company executive Doug McMillon. McMillon, 47, president and CEO of Walmart International, was also named to Wal-Mart’s board, effective immediately.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. - Sears Holdings chairman Eddie Lampert is reportedly considering selling the company’s Sears Canada stores. According to the New York Post, Lampert has been quietly consulting banks including Goldman Sachs and reaching out to prospective buyers.

Shopko has named retail industry veteran Peter McMahon as its new CEO.

McMahon has more than 30 years of experience in international retail. Most recently McMahon served as the COO at Loblaws. As COO, McMahon was responsible for Loblaws’ supply chain, IT, HR, labor relations, merchandising, store operations and loss prevention functions. Prior to his time at Loblaws, McMahon held senior-level positions at Walmart in Germany and Japan and Tesco in central Europe.

Suffern, N.Y. -- David Jaffe, president and CEO of Ascena Retail Group, has been named the National EY (Ernst & Young) Entrepreneur of the Year Family Business Award of Excellence winner, recognized for building a company with multiple retail brands.

Here’s something you may not have heard in a while: Competition from multiple buyers is causing a spike in the price of many shopping centers. This isn’t a minor bubble, either — it has become apparent to me that the extremely competitive nature of the current market has led to some dramatic overpricing. From my perspective, many of the price tags on power centers and grocery-anchored neighborhood centers (and, to a lesser extent, traditional malls and unanchored strip centers) are getting out of touch with reality.

Atlanta — Jones Lang LaSalle has closed the sale of Powers Ferry Plaza on behalf of Equity One. An Atlanta-based private investor purchased the 86,401-sq.-ft. shopping center anchored by Micro Center.

The property is strategically located on approximately 10.7 acres along Powers Ferry Road near the intersection of Powers Ferry Road and Delk Road, a little more than 12 miles northwest of downtown Atlanta.

Minerco Resources, parent company of Level 5 Beverage Company, has appointed beverage executive Darin Ezra to Level 5’s board of directors.

Ezra will take a leadership role in both the tactical and strategic direction of the company. He has more than 15 years of experience in the packaged consumer goods industry.

Ezra co-founded Power Brands Consulting in 2006 and serves as its CEO. Power Brands has been party to the development of more than 500 beverage brands.

New York -- Since 2009, retail sales at North America’s 205 outlet centers have increased from $19.9 billion to $27.6 billion, an increase of $7.7 billion, according to an International Council of Shopping Centers report.

Six publicly traded REITs with notable outlet center portfolios have benefited from outlet center success, according to SNL Financial. They are: