FINANCE

Sears Holdings Corp. is seeking to stop its bleeding and raise more cash by closing another 104 stores and selling its iconic Craftsman tools brand.   The struggling retailer said it has reached an agreement to sell Craftsman to Stanley Black & Decker for a net present value of about $900 million, including future royalty payments. Sears, which will continue to sell Craftsman products, had put the brand, along with its Kenmore and DieHard brands, up for sale several months ago.   

The partnership between the U.S. Postal Service and Staples has come to an end.   The program started as a pilot in late 2013 and was eventually expanded to about 500 Staples locations. It effectively placed mini post-offices in the chain’s stores, with Staples’s non-union employees providing some of the same services that the Postal Service’s union employees performed.      

A few familiar retail names are reportedly in discussions to buy American Apparel.    Amazon and Forever 21 are among the companies in talks with the bankrupt manufacturing and retail company and its advisors about submitting offers ahead of a deadline on Friday, Reuters reported.  

Walgreens Boots Alliance on Thursday reported a better-than-expected profit for its first quarter and also said an announcement that it has closed the deal on its proposed acquisition of Rite Aid would come soon.   Walgreens confirmed it is actively engaged in discussions with the Federal Trade Commission regarding its pending Rite Aid acquisition, which was announced more than 14 months ago. Also subject to FTC approval is the sale of 865 Rite Aid locations to Fred's for almost $1 billion.    

Macy’s gave more information about its previously announced store closing plans as it unveiled a series of actions to streamline its store portfolio, intensify cost efficiency efforts and execute its real estate strategy.   

For the second time in a week, Sears Holdings Corp. is borrowing money from the hedge fund of its CEO.   The embattled retailer has entered into a $500 million secured loan facility (maturing in July 2020) with ESL Investments, the hedge fund controlled by Sears chairman and CEO Edward Lampert. Of the total, $321 million was funded immediately, and an additional $179 million may be drawn in the future.  

Federal regulators have raised questions over Bass Pro Shops' $4.5 billion deal to acquire Cabela's Inc.    In a regulatory filing Friday, Cabela's said the Federal Trade Commission had requested additional information from both Cabela's and Bass Pro Shops, according to Foxnews.com.   

Iconix Brand Group has sold the rights to the Sharper Image brand and related intellectual property assets to the company that recently bought FAO Schwarz from Toys “R” Us.      Iconix sold Sharper Image to ThreeSixty Group, which manufactures and distributes toys and other consumer products to stores nationwide, for $100 million in cash. ThreeSixty is also Sharper Image’s largest licensee.