Financial News

GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. — Dollar General will acquire all 323 Dollar Express discount stores in 36 states from its owner, private equity firm Sycamore Partners, the company confirmed to several media outlets. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Dollar Express stores, which still carry the Family Dollar moniker, will be rebranded to Dollar General. The 323 stores comprise most of the 330 stores sold to Sycamore in order to meet federal antitrust approval of Dollar Tree’s acquisition of Family Dollar in 2015. 

TOKYO and GODDELIES — Astellas Pharma on Monday announced an acquisition that will expand the company’s late-stage small-molecule pipeline. Astellas will be acquiring drug discovery company Ogeda for as much as €800 million, including a €500 million initial payment. Ogeda shareholders will be eligible for an additional €300 million as the company attains certain clinical milestones for its lead investigational candidate fenzolinetant.

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A just-released analysis of the U.S. retail sector offers positive news for an industry that has been subject to some gloomy assessments in recent times.

Despite the rash of recent Chapter 11 filings and store closings, the U.S. retail sector as a whole remains incredibly strong and shows no signs of slowing down, according to a report by business intelligence firm Creditsafe USA.

NEW YORK — Instead of positing online retail dominance and the effect of millennials on brick-and-mortar sales, the New York Post posited a new theory regarding why Americans are seemingly not spending at retail locations: they don’t have the money.

According to the news outlet, A Federal Reserve Bank of New York report revealed one-third of Americans stated they could not come up with $2,000 in the next 30 days should the need arise.

“No matter how you look at it, the average American is tapped out,” the Post wrote.

INDIANAPOLIS — Eli Lilly and Co. will invest $850 in its U.S. operations in 2017. The company's investments span facilities across its U.S. enterprise, including research laboratories, manufacturing sites, and general and administrative areas. The investments are being driven by demand for Lilly products, as well as its pipeline of potential medicines in development targeting cancer, pain, diabetes and other unmet medical needs. 

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Kmart parent Sears Holdings, revealed in in its annual Form 10-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that its “[H]istorical operating results indicate substantial doubt exists related to the company's ability to continue as a going concern.”