Mergers & Acquisitions

Naperville, Ill. -- The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has approved the merger of Office Max Inc. and Office Depot, the retailers said in a joint statement on Friday. The companies anticipate completing the transaction after market close on November 5, 2013.  

Restoration Hardware has appointed Katie Mitic to its board of directors. Mitic, who will also serve on the board’s audit committee, has nearly 20 years of strategic product, marketing and business development experience.

“We are thrilled to have Katie join RH’s board. Her entrepreneurial mindset and digital expertise will be invaluable as we continue to evolve and enhance the ways in which we connect with our customers,” said Gary Friedman, chairman, creator, curator, and co-CEO.

Hampstead, Md. -- Jos. A. Bank Clothiers said that it will consider increasing its $2.3 billion buyout offer for Men's Wearhouse. The retailer also said that it would drop its proposal in two week if Men's Wearhouse did not enter into discussions.

 In a letter sent to Men's Wearhouse CEO Douglas Ewert, Jos. A. Bank chairman Robert Wildrick said that if the talks are not held by that date it will pull its offer so that it can consider other strategic options that it has been investigating.

New York -- Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz had resigned from the board of mobile payments company Square Inc., Reuters reported.

Square, founded in 2009 by Twitter Inc co-creator Jack Dorsey, named David Viniar, most recently the CFO of Goldman Sachs Group, as a replacement.

Schultz joined Square's board in August 2012 by investing $25 million in a deal to use its technology to process debit and credit card payments at the coffee chain's stores.

Revlon has appointed former Colomer Group executive Lorenzo Delpani as the company’s president and CEO.

Delpani replaces David Kennedy, who served briefly as Revlon’s interim CEO since the recent departure of CEO Alan Ennis, who left the company to “pursue other interests.” Kennedy will continue to serve as Revlon’s vice chairman.

Nestlé plans to relocate its pizza business from Northbrook, Ill., to Solon, Ohio. Nestlé Pizza operates the Digiorno, California Pizza Kitchen, Tombstone and Jack's brands. The company anticipates completing the move by mid-2014.

The Nestlé Pizza Division brands were acquired from Kraft Foods in 2010 for $3.7 billion. The acquisition allowed the company to expand its frozen prepared foods category.

New York -- Bloomingdale’s longtime chief executive and chairman, Michael Gould, 70, is stepping down after 22 years on the job. He will be succeeded by Tony Spring, 48, currently Bloomingdale’s president and COO, effective Feb. 1, 2014. A successor to Spring as president of Bloomingdale’s is expected to be named in 2014.

Brooklyn, N.Y. -- Lifestyle/Trimco/Viaggio, the Brooklyn, N.Y.-based manufacturer of mannequins, forms, specialty fixtures, fabric applications, seasonal trim and holiday décor, has merged with Almax, the world-renowned mannequin company based in Italy.
 
The new company, Global Visual Group, will make its debut at A.R.E.’s Retail Design Collective, which will be in New York City, December 4-6, 2013.