Corporate Governance

General Mills is in the process of acquiring leading natural and organic food company Annie’s for $46 per share in cash, for a total transaction value of approximately $820 million.  

The transaction consideration represents a 51% premium over Annie’s 30-day average closing price of $30.47 as of Sept. 5. Annie’s will continue to be headquartered in Berkeley, California.

Canton, Mass. – Baskin-Robbins is expanding its footprint in Southern California with both existing and new franchisees from San Diego to Bakersfield, California. Existing Baskin-Robbins shops also are available throughout Southern California.

RetailMeNot, a leading marketplace for digital offers, has added Eric Korman to its board of directors.

Korman recently served as president of Ralph Lauren's digital and global e-commerce division, where he was responsible for the company's digital businesses, marketing and operations, across all markets. In addition to leading the digital division, Korman is credited with establishing and managing Ralph Lauren's customer intelligence and experience management group, a global enterprise function supporting all global business channels.

Mahwah, N.J. - Ernest LaPorte has joined Ascena Retail Group Inc. as senior VP/chief accounting officer. LaPorte will oversee Ascena’s accounting, financial reporting and accounting shared service functions.

For the last seven years, LaPorte held the position of senior VP/controller at Saks Inc. Prior to Saks, LaPorte worked at the Movado Group Inc. as VP of finance and principal accounting officer and Barnes & Noble, where he spent six years in finance.

Arlington, Va. – Cooperation among all public- and private-sector stakeholders in the retail industry is needed to ensure cyber security in the face of high-profile retail hacking attacks like the one recently uncovered at Home Depot, according to the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA). Sandy Kennedy, president of RILA, released a public statement on the importance of continuing to improve the security of debit and credit cards.

Houston -- Francesca's Holdings Corp. on Tuesday reported second quarter net income of $10.3 million, down from $14.6 million in the year-earlier period. Earnings and sales both fell short of estimates. The retailer also lowered its earnings outlook for the year.

Net sales rose 9% to $97.3 million, driven largely by new openings. Total apparel sales increased 14%, accessories sales increased 14%, and gift sales increased 25%. The gains were offset by a 12% decrease in jewelry sales,

Same-store sales fell 7%.

New York -- Home Depot officially confirmed that in-store payment systems at its U.S. and Canadian stores had been hacked in a breach that potentially could be one of the biggest attacks yet. The chain said malware was used in the hack.  

Maxwell House has launched a sponsored digital content series called "Made Right Here," that showcases “made-in-America” stories as part of its efforts to rejuvenate the brand and tap into a new generation of coffee drinkers.

Produced in partnership with Coolfire Studios and Mr. Here Productions, "Made Right Here" features the people behind products manufactured all across the country, from the small sheds and workshops of artists to large gleaming factories run by assembly lines.