Financial/Banking

Westborough, N.H. -- Private equity firms Leonard Green & Partners and CVC Capital Partners on Friday completed their $2.8 billion acquisition of BJ's Wholesale Club. The move, which takes the chain private, sets the stage for a stock delisting, effective Monday before the markets open.

The deal was announced in late June after months of speculation. BJ’s shareholders approved the buyout on Sept. 9. The chain currently operates 190 warehouse clubs in 15 states.
 

MATTHEWS, N.C. — The chief investment officer of Trian Fund Management has been named to the board of directors at Family Dollar, the retailer announced.

Edward Garden's appointment as board member is effective immediately. With this appointment, Family Dollar's board expands to 11 directors.

New York City -- A report released Thursday by Bloomberg said that consumer confidence in the United States slumped last week to the second-lowest level on record.

The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index dropped to minus 53 in the period ended Sept. 25 from minus 52.1 the prior week. Similar readings were reached three times in the first half of 2009 and surpassed only by all-time lows of minus 54 plumbed in November 2008 and again in January 2009.

Wan Ling Martello may not have been a household name outside of Walmart, but that doesn’t diminish the significance of her departure from a company eager to achieve a higher degree of diversity among the ranks of its senior executives.

Atlanta -- According to a report released Thursday by First Data Corp., the prepaid gift-card market has remained healthy during the first half of 2011, despite a sluggish economy.

The 2011 Midyear Gift Card update showed that the gift card market experienced a higher rate of growth than U.S. consumer spending.

New York City -- JPMorgan said Thursday it has hired Sears Holdings Corp. president of financial services Susan Ehrlich as a senior VP.

Ehrlich will be charged to help create new payments services for customers, retailers and small businesses.

Ehrlich managed Sears’s expansion of payment and credit products over a five-year period for the retailer.
 

New York City -- Centro Properties Group US is changing its name to Brixmor Property Group, effective immediately. The name change follows the acquisition of the company in June by an affiliate of Blackstone Real Estate Partners VI L.P.

Brixmor is the second largest owner of community and neighborhood shopping centers in the United States with 585 properties aggregating approximately 92.0 million sq. ft. and has been a leader in value-creating redevelopment over the last decade.

MATTHEWS, N.C. — Family Dollar Stores announced Wednesday that it plans to open 450 to 500 new stores in fiscal 2012, a 50% jump compared with the number of openings in fiscal 2011, and will renovate, relocate or expand over 1,000 locations. The discounter also reported that its fiscal fourth-quarter net income rose 8%.

“In fiscal 2012, we intend to accelerate investments to drive sales and profitability,” said Howard Levine, chairman and CEO.