| JC Penney buying stake in Martha Stewart Living and Delta buys minority stake in Brazilian airline |
| News - Financial News |
|
J.C. Penney Co. is buying a minority stake in Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. for $38.5 million, the latest move by the department store to attract new customers and perk up lackluster sales. Penney is acquiring a 16.6 percent stake in the media and merchandising company. The Plano, Texas, company will create mini-Martha Stewart shops within its department stores and a joint website. The deal, announced Wednesday, comes at a time when both brands are aiming to revitalize business. Penney recently brought on former Apple Inc. executive Ron Johnson as CEO. Johnson, who joined the company's board in August, took over merchandising and marketing responsibilities on Nov. 1. Johnson, who will assume the remaining CEO functions on Feb. 1, has said he wanted to "re-imagine" the department store chain. [Read the full article] NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of struggling women's clothing company Talbots Inc. jumped more than 62 percent on Wednesday after private equity firm Sycamore Partners made a $205.2 million takeover offer. THE SPARK: Sycamore, Talbots' biggest stockholder with a 9.9 percent share, disclosed in a regulatory filing on Tuesday that it offered $3 per share to buy the chain. [Read the full article] ALL CLEAR: India has given final approval for Cairn Energy's $6.5 billion sale of a majority stake in its Indian assets to London-based mining firm Vedanta Resources. LENGTHY REVIEW: The long-delayed deal has served as a reminder of just what many foreign investors don't like about India. Over 15 months of negotiations resulted in a punishing contractual change over royalty payments. STICKING POINTS: The companies announced the sale back in August 2010, but wrangling over royalties and government approvals threatened to sink the deal in India's notorious bureaucracy. [Read the full article] 
|