Financial/Banking

NEW ORLEANS — Discover has signed contracts with 50 merchant acquirers that will extend PayPal’s in-store acceptance to more than 2 million merchant outlets by the end of the year.

Eight months ago, PayPal announced its intention to create an innovative payment option that leveraged Discover’s payments infrastructure to provide PayPal’s more than 55 million active domestic account holders with access to millions of retail stores, restaurants and gas pumps.

Minneapolis -- Consumer electronics retailer Best Buy is leaving the European market. The company is selling its stake in a joint European venture with U.K.-based consumer electronics retailer Carphone Warehouse Group PLC for cash and stock worth about $775 million USD.

Best Buy Co. will also pay Carphone 29 million pounds (about $45 million) related to existing agreements that will be terminated when the deal closes. The U.S. retailer also said that it will incur an approximately $200 million asset impairment charge related to the stake sale.

Boca Raton, Fla. -- Office products retailer Office Depot reported a worse-than-expected first quarter net loss of $17 million, compared with net earnings of $41 million a year earlier, hurt by lower sales and costs related to its pending merger with OfficeMax. The company also said it would hold a special meeting with investors to seek approval for the merger.   

New York -- Multibillion dollar transactions drove U.S. retail and consumer deals during the first quarter of 2013, according to PwC US.

For the three month period ending March 31, 2013, there were a total of 27 deals in the retail and consumer sector with disclosed values greater than $50 million, accounting for $39.8 billion in deal value. Deal volume increased 59% from the 17 deals during the first quarter 2012, while deal value rose 590% from $5.8 billion in first quarter 2012.  

Chicago -- Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services said it has named Stephen Rachman as regional manager of its Chicago O’Hare office.

Rachman began his career at Marcus & Millichap in 2002 as an agent in the firm’s Chicago O’Hare office and, in 2004, relocated to the Chicago Downtown office. Named senior associate in 2005, and then VP investments in March 2013, Rachman returned to the Chicago O’Hare office in March.
 

Former Walmart apparel merchant Dottie Mattison and Sephora head merchant Margarita Arriagada will be among those honored next week at the 35th annual Outstanding Mother Awards.

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Monday by the Commerce Dept. said that March consumer spending in the U.S. advanced more than forecast – rising 0.2% after a 0.7% increase in February.

Pittsburgh -- GNC Holdings reported Friday that net income for the quarter ended March 31 rose 12.5% to $72.6 million, compared with $64.5 million in the year-ago period.

Revenue increased 6.5% to $664.7 million, from $624.3 million last year. Same-store sales advanced 1.9% in domestic company-owned stores (including online sales).