Corporate Governance

According to a Reuters report, Amazon is making headway into the online payments arena, which has long been dominated by PayPal.

The article says Amazon will start managing subscription payments for startups and other companies as soon as Monday. The service, according to the report, will allow the company's more than 240 million active users to use credit card details stored on Amazon.com to pay for services such as a monthly phone bill or a digital music subscription — for a fee on each transaction payable to Amazon.

North Bergen, N.J. — Vitamin Shoppe Inc. has purchased FDC Vitamins LLC, doing business as Nutri-Force Nutrition, a contract manufacturer of vitamins, minerals and supplements, from MBF Healthcare Partners L.P. and other minority holders. Nutri-Force is a current manufacturer for Vitamin Shoppe as well as for other domestic and international customers and distributors.

The Hillshire Brands Company has confirmed that it received a unilateral binding offer from Tyson Foods to acquire all its outstanding common shares for $63 per share in cash.

By its terms, the Tyson Foods offer will remain in place until the termination of the Hillshire Brands/Pinnacle merger agreement or December 12, whichever comes first.

Goodlettsville, Tenn. — Dollar General plans to expand its nationwide presence into three new states within the next year, increasing the company’s presence to 43 states across the country. The discount retailer will begin construction on stores in Maine and Rhode Island in fall 2014, with plans to expand into Oregon in early 2015.

While the mantra of “keep it simple, stupid” has long been a staple in the world of business, the message of the recent SAP Sapphire 2014 conference in Orlando could be summed up as “keep it simple, smart.” Speakers throughout the three-day event stressed how leading-edge technology allows enterprises to operate with a previously unavailable simplicity and flexibility, providing new and exciting capabilities.  Here are a few examples.

Silicon Valley saw some drama late Monday when PayPal announced that president David Marcus was leaving to lead Facebook’s messaging products.

The split was amicable with eBay president and CEO John Donahoe wishing Marcus well at Facebook.

New York — Sycamore Partners announced Monday that it bought the going-out-of-business Coldwater Creek brand and other intellectual property through an affiliate company during the  apparel chain’s  bankruptcy proceedings.  The private equity firm said it plans to re-launch Coldwater Creek as an independent portfolio company, but it did not give a timeline for the launch.

Terms of the acquisition weren’t disclosed.

Ulta Beauty has announced that Vanessa Wittman, SVP and CFO of Google subsidiary Motorola Mobility, has been appointed to its board and as a member of its audit committee.