Strong international sales helped fuel a 22 percent jump in second-quarter profits; the company’s Yoki Alimentos business in Brazil, which it bought earlier this year, contributed.
Banking + Finance
Heartland Advisors, Inc., which said it owns about 9 percent of Analysts International, is urging the company to pursue a merger or sale.
At least one securities analyst believes Caribou could fetch a higher purchase price, while another said that the $16-per-share offer accounts for the chain’s growth potential as well as its recent “choppy” financial performance.
Tokyo-based Sumitomo Chemical now owns a 76 percent stake in local insect control business MGK.
The Joh. A. Benckiser Group, a German holding company that recently purchased a majority stake in California-based Peet’s Coffee & Tea, has agreed to pay $16 per share in cash to acquire Caribou Coffee.
The health care insurer, which pushed out its former chief executive in July, has appointed Michael Guyette as its next leader.
Best Buy’s stock, which had jumped Thursday on speculation that Richard Schulze was poised to make a takeover bid, returned Friday to where it had been trading previously, following news that Schulze’s deadline has been pushed back to February.
Appert’s President Joe Omann said that Sysco plans to retain the company’s 300 workers, and being acquired by an industry leader will likely lead to additional growth in Minnesota.
Korn/Ferry International said it will pay between $80 million and $95 million to acquire Minneapolis-based PDI Ninth House, a provider of talent management and leadership development solutions.
Company founder Richard Schulze reportedly faces a Sunday deadline, and his offer is expected to be at least $5 billion to $6 billion.
The hacker group that claimed to have disrupted several national banks’ websites in September appears to have launched a second round of attacks, and Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp is once again a victim.
Members of the Business Roundtable—which includes some CEOs who head Minnesota companies—said they support “a balanced solution to the fiscal cliff and long-term deficit and debt issues,” adding that “no options should be precluded from a potential solution.”
The company recently bought Iowa-based Mason City Business Systems, Inc., which expands its presence in the state and marks the company’s biggest acquisition to date.
A Merrill Lynch analyst reportedly said that a Best Buy buyout is unlikely due to the difficulty of obtaining necessary financing; she also restored an “underperform” rating to Best Buy’s stock.
J.J. Taylor, which employs about 230 in Minnesota, is acquiring Chisago Lakes Distributing, a 35-employee distribution company located north of the Twin Cities.
Despite warnings from economists that the “fiscal cliff” could have dire consequences for the U.S. economy, more than half of those who responded to a recent poll indicated that it might be sensible to take the plunge.
According to Bloomberg, Cerberus Capital Management LP—which was previously considering making a bid for the company as a whole—might instead seek control of its two largest chains, Albertsons and Save-A-Lot.
U.S. Bancorp CEO Richard Davis anticipates “substantially lower” revenue growth next year, due to which the company plans to open fewer branches.