Top Retail Deals of 2019

Although overall M&A activity in the retail sector was quieter in 2019 than the year before, it still had its share of big deals.

Among the ones that rocked the industry was the $16.2 billion acquisition of a crown jewel of U.S. retail — Tiffany & Co. — by French luxury powerhouse Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. The deal is the largest ever in the luxury sector.

In other shake-ups, the largest bookseller in America, Barnes & Noble, was acquired by U.K. hedge fund Elliott Advisors, department store icon Lord & Taylor was acquired by an online clothing rental company and Eddie Lampert’s ESL Investment at the last minute purchased Sears out of bankruptcy.

This special edition of Daybreaker provides a recap of the retail deals that helped define the year.