Financial/Banking

Plano, Texas – Two major J.C. Penney Co. Inc. executives who left the company in April 2013 did so without receiving severance pay. According to a regulatory filing from Penney, neither former CEO Ron Johnson nor former chief talent officer Daniel Walker were paid any severance when they left the retailer.

Beachwood, Ohio — DDR has signed a letter of intent to sell its 50% ownership interest in Sonae Sierra Brazil BV Sarl, a Luxembourg company, to Alexander Otto and his affiliates for $343.6 million. DDR’s interest in SSB BV Sarl represents the company’s entire investment in Brazil. The gross proceeds of $346.6 million include $283 million from the negotiated price of R$26.00 per share of SSB, a 67% premium to the closing price on the IBOVESPA as of March 7, and DDR’s stake in Parque Dom Pedro, valued at $60.7 million.

According to reports, eBay is urging shareholders to reject a slate of board members nominated by activist investor Carl Icahn and instead support nominees picked by the company.

Reuters has reported that eBay is asking shareholders to re-elect existing directors CEO John Donahoe, company co-founder and managing director Fred Anderson, Intuit co-founder Scott Cook and former Agilent Technologies CEO Edward Barnholt.

San Jose, Calif. – EBay Inc. is reportedly urging shareholders to reject a slate of board members nominated by activist investor Carl Icahn and instead support nominees picked by the company. According to Reuters, EBay recommends shareholder vote to re-elect four existing directors: CEO John Donahoe, company co-founder and managing director Fred Anderson, Intuit co-founder Scott Cook and former Agilent Technologies CEO Edward Barnholt.

Coupons.com has gone public. The digital promotional platform has priced its initial public offering of 10,500,000 shares of common stock at $16 per share, which is above the reported expected range of $12 to $14.

Coupons.com has also granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional 1,575,000 shares. Shares are expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange today under ticker symbol "COUP."

Goldman, Sachs & Co., Allen & Company LLC, BofA Merrill Lynch and RBC Capital Markets LLC are acting as bookrunners.

Lenexa, Kan. - Only about four-in-10 (39%) of consumers are "very confident" that using a credit or debit card was safe. Half (49%) of consumers surveyed were only "somewhat confident." In light of the mass retail payment security breaches in recent months, Balance Innovations surveyed shoppers about their confidence in using credit and debit cards at their primary grocery store and whether they have changed their payment methods in response.

MasterCard and Visa have teamed up to form a new cross-industry group focused on enhancing payment system security to keep pace with the expectations of consumers, retailers and financial institutions.

News of the group’s formation comes as retailers like Target continue to deal with fallout from the data breaches that first came to light December 2013 and which continue to dominate headlines.

Boston – Wayfair has raised $157 million in equity financing to fuel continued growth of the company's portfolio of home brands. The Series B investment round, led by funds and accounts managed by T. Rowe Price Associates Inc., encompassed a limited number of key investors, including growth-focused mutual funds, as well as a private investment from Julie M.B. Bradley, TripAdvisor CFO and Wayfair board member.