Financial News

NEW YORK — Royal Ahold may be one step closer to acquiring Harris Teeter, though the Dutch supermarket conglomerate has yet to make a formal bid, according to a story published Friday morning by Bloomberg. 

Citing persons familiar with any potential acquisition pursuit, Bloomberg reported Ahold has contacted JPMorgan Chase, which has been retained by Harris Teeter to evaluate options.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Harris Teeter Supermarkets on Thursday elected Mark Ordan to its board at its annual shareholders meeting.

Ordan is CEO of Sunrise Senior Living, a provider of senior living services in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Ordan has also held senior executive positions at a number of companies in the real estate, food service and supermarket industries.

The company also announced that its board declared a quarterly dividend in the amount of $0.15 per share, to be paid on April 1, 2013 to shareholders of record on March 8, 2013.

WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J. — Valeant Pharmaceuticals has bought rights to a drug used to treat skin cancer from Eisai, the companies said Thursday.

Valeant has bought the rights to Targretin (bexarotene) capsules and gel from Eisai for $65 million upfront, plus additional payments based on certain milestones. Under the deal, Eisai has transferred its regulatory approval application to Valeant, which will assume responsibilities for all regulatory obligations associated with the product in the United States. Eisai will retain rights to the drug outside the United States.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart saw a diminutive 1% increase in same-store sales at U.S. stores, but beat analyst estimates and delivered better-than-expected fourth-quarter profits, the company announced Thursday.

Walmart said total sales increased 3.9% to $127.1 billion compared to $122.3 billion last year. Without the benefit of a favorable currency exchange situation, sales would have increased a lesser 3.7% to $126.8 billion. Full year sales increased by 5% to $466.1 billion compared to last year’s total of $443.8.

NEW YORK — Supermarket operator Ahold USA could be in a position to buy Matthews, N.C.-based supermarket chain Harris Teeter, according to published reports.

Citing remarks by BMO Capital Markets analyst Karen Short, the Wall Street Journal reported that Ahold, Publix Super Markets and Kroger Co. would be candidates for a purchase of Harris Teeter, with Ahold named as the most logical candidate due to an acquisitive nature and a desire to enter the southern United States.

RESTON, Va. — In terms of growth, clicks continued to outpace bricks in 2012 — and how!

That was the key takeaway from comScore’s “2013 U.S. Digital Future in Focus” report: Despite the backdrop of continued economic uncertainty, 2012 was a strong year for retail e-commerce. Throughout the year, growth rates versus the prior year remained in the mid-teens to outpace growth at brick-and-mortar retail by a factor of approximately four times.

NORTH BERGEN, N.J. — The Vitamin Shoppe on Thursday announced that it has closed on the previously announced purchase of Super Supplements — a specialty retailer of vitamins, minerals and supplements — for approximately $50 million.  

Super Supplements is headquartered in Seattle and operates 31 stores in the Pacific Northwest.

MATTHEWS, N.C. — Harris Teeter on Wednesday confirmed an earlier Wall Street Journal report that the grocer was in the process of exploring strategic options.