Retail Acquisitions in 2024

Fleet Feet has acquired South Sound Running's two retail locations in Olympia and Puyallup, which will re-open as Fleet Feet Olympia and Fleet Feet Puyallup in early 2025. Local Fleet Feet franchisees Wade and Julie Pannell — who operate six other Washington stores — will operate the locations following the retirement sale by founders Greg Klein and Joan Marchioro.

The Amenity Collective, a subsidiary of FirstService Corporation, has acquired Advantage Sport & Fitness Inc., a premier U.S. fitness equipment distributor and facility design provider based in Ithaca, New York. The deal pairs Advantage with LIVunLtd to create North America's largest fitness equipment distributor and servicer, expanding distribution capacity, service capabilities, and geographic reach.

Stewart's Shops Corp. has acquired the retail convenience-store operations of Jolley Associates LLC and the wholesale petroleum and residential heating oil businesses of S.B. Collins Inc., adding 45 convenience stores across Vermont, New Hampshire and New York. The deal expands Stewart's regional footprint and integrates fuel distribution and heating-oil operations previously owned by the Jolley family; Matrix Capital Markets advised the sellers.

The Cannabist Company (formerly Columbia Care) acquired the Ciencia Labs portfolio earlier in 2024 and is launching the Ciencia Labs brand dreamt in Maryland, with additional markets and products planned for 2025. The acquisition expands The Cannabist Company’s branded product offerings and supports broader retail and wholesale distribution across its dispensary and wholesale channels.

Canopy USA, an affiliate of Canopy Growth Corporation, has completed its acquisition of Acreage Holdings, acquiring 100% of Acreage's outstanding shares. The transaction consolidates Canopy USA's U.S. cannabis assets (including Wana and Jetty) into a unified, brand-focused platform to realize cost synergies, expand retail and product reach across Midwestern and Northeastern U.S. markets, and accelerate growth in state-legal markets.

Canadian Shield Capital, together with Midland's management team, has acquired Midland Appliance Ltd. from Ironbridge Equity Partners. Ironbridge supported Midland's growth during its hold period, including expansion of the sales force and two new BC locations; the transaction completes an ownership transition intended to support the company's next growth phase.

Tulip, a cloud-based retail customer engagement and POS platform, has acquired Humankind, an eCommerce clienteling and conversational commerce SaaS provider. The acquisition integrates Humankind’s eCommerce clienteling product and customers into Tulip’s clienteling platform to deliver a unified omnichannel person-to-person customer engagement solution for retailers.

NXTLVL Marine, LLC acquired two MarineMax locations in San Antonio and at Lake LBJ (WakePoint), expanding its footprint in Central Texas. NXTLVL will relocate the San Antonio operation into its New Braunfels facility and rebrand/operate the Lake LBJ location at WakePoint, and has been approved as an authorized Nautique Boats dealer.

BreakTime Corner Market LLC (BTCM) is acquiring 39 convenience stores operating under the Minit Mart brand in central and northern Illinois from EG America LLC. EG Group said the disposal generated net proceeds of $38 million; BTCM will rebrand the locations to BrakeTime, retain existing team members, and expand its Midwest footprint.

Casey's General Stores (Nasdaq: CASY) completed the acquisition of Fikes Wholesale, owner of CEFCO Convenience Stores, on November 1, 2024. The deal adds roughly 198 CEFCO locations (148 in Texas and 50 in Alabama, Florida and Mississippi), expanding Casey's store footprint to about 2,900 locations and advancing its geographic growth strategy.

AFS Group (doing business as America's Floor Source) has acquired the assets and intellectual property of Flooring Solutions, a Memphis, Tennessee-based flooring and tile retailer. The business will operate under the AFS brand, retain its leaders and staff, and remain at its current Memphis location as part of AFS's mid-South expansion.

TDR Capital has acquired Zuber Issa's shares in Asda and become the majority shareholder with 67.5% ownership, while Mohsin Issa and Walmart remain co-shareholders. TDR said it will continue to work with Asda management to drive long-term growth, focusing on low prices, expanding convenience retail and investing in stores and online.

TFG London, the UK arm of South African retailer The Foschini Group (TFG), has acquired British lifestyle apparel retailer White Stuff. The deal expands TFG’s UK brand portfolio (alongside Hobbs, Phase Eight and Whistles) and supports White Stuff’s growth plans across stores and digital channels; White Stuff reported ~£154.8m revenue and £8.6m EBITDA as of April 2024 and operates 113 UK stores and 46 concessions.

SNDL Inc. completed a plan of arrangement to acquire all outstanding Nova Cannabis shares it did not already own, paying $1.75 per Nova share in cash or SNDL share consideration. The transaction will delist Nova, enable an anticipated amalgamation with SNDL, and is intended to streamline SNDL's Canadian cannabis retail operations and eliminate public-company expenses.

Platte River Equity–backed Municipal Emergency Services, Inc. (MES) has acquired Frontline Outfitters, marking MES’s first international expansion into Canada. The add-on strengthens MES’s distribution network and capabilities in public-safety uniforms and outerwear for law enforcement, fire, EMS and corrections across Canada.

Go Global Retail has completed the acquisition of HATCH Collection through its Janie and Jack Holdings, Inc. platform. The deal brings the premium maternity brand HATCH into the Janie and Jack family to expand the group's reach into early parenthood and accelerate omnichannel growth, financed in part by a senior secured credit facility from MidCap Financial.

Dark Horse Cannabis has acquired Green Light Dispensary in West Helena (Helena), Arkansas and will rebrand the store as Speakeasy by Dark Horse while relocating the permanent site to Brinkley, Arkansas. The acquisition expands Dark Horse’s retail footprint in Arkansas and aims to improve customer access and create local jobs.

IQVentures Holdings, LLC has completed a take-private acquisition of The Aaron's Company, Inc. for approximately $504 million, paying $10.10 per share in cash. The transaction is supported by a $120 million senior secured revolving credit facility arranged by Second Avenue Capital Partners and Pathlight Capital to help finance the acquisition and position Aaron's to accelerate its omni-channel strategy and operational transformation.

Blue Compass RV, a Fort Lauderdale–based retail operator, has acquired Patriot RV in the Lexington, Kentucky market and rebranded the store as Blue Compass RV. The location — a state-of-the-art facility on I-75 in Georgetown — expands Blue Compass's footprint in the Lexington area and enhances its retail and service capacity for new and used recreational vehicles.

Fairfax Financial Holdings, through a newly formed wholly-owned subsidiary 16133258 Canada Inc., completed a cash takeover of Sleep Country Canada Holdings Inc. under a court-approved plan of arrangement, paying C$35.00 per common share. Sleep Country will be delisted from the TSX and cease reporting as Fairfax takes the specialty mattress retailer private.

F9 Investments, the private equity firm controlled by LL Flooring founder Tom Sullivan, completed a going-concern purchase of LL Flooring’s assets, acquiring 219 stores, inventory, the Sandston, Virginia distribution center, intellectual property and other assets. The transaction—completed through the court-supervised Chapter 11 process—preserves the business and keeps the acquired stores open while remaining locations continue closing sales.

Iconix International Inc., together with liquidator Hilco Consumer-Retail Group, completed the purchase of the Salt Life apparel brand from Chapter 11 debtor Delta Apparel Inc. for $38.74 million. The new owners will close Salt Life's 28 retail stores and transition the brand to a wholesale and e-commerce licensing model while appointing Thread Collective as a licensee for men's and women's apparel.

Ogden-based Fast Stop Travel Centers has acquired three gas stations in Ogden, Willard and Pleasant View, Utah from Willard-based retailer Trigon. The transactions, brokered by Mountain West Commercial Real Estate, are part of Fast Stop's ongoing expansion of its travel-center and convenience-store footprint across the Rockies.

Legacy Markets, LLC has completed the acquisition of Triangle Stop Food Stores and JH Reaben Oil Company, adding 10 convenience store locations in western North Carolina serving the Hendersonville and Brevard communities. The deal expands Legacy Markets' footprint as it continues to grow by acquiring local convenience-store operators while preserving local brands and employee bases.

Reeder Trausch Marine Inc., a Rockville, Indiana-based boat dealership, has acquired Denny's Marina, Inc., an Indianapolis/Peru, Indiana family-owned boat dealership founded in 1972. Skyway Capital Markets advised the Decker family on the sale; Denny's Marina will be renamed Reeder Trausch Marine Indy following the transaction.

Alliance Mobile Inc., a portfolio company of Centre Partners Management, acquired 33 Master Wireless retail stores located in Michigan and Wisconsin. Greenwich Capital Group advised Master Wireless on the sale — the deal expands Alliance Mobile's AT&T-authorized retail footprint in the Midwest.

Brightmore Brands, a portfolio company of Beach Point Capital Management, has acquired Texas Thrift, a portfolio of 17 thrift stores, from Brook Valley Management. The add-on expands Brightmore's footprint into Texas and makes the combined company the largest privately held, for-profit thrift chain in North America.

Lifestyle Fund II, the private equity vehicle promoted and managed by Quadrivio & Pambianco, has acquired a majority stake in French womenswear brand Sessùn. The fund bought the minority stake held by Experienced Capital while founder Emma François-Grasset retains a minority stake and remains CEO; the investment will support international expansion, store growth and e-commerce development to double revenue.

CSC Generation Enterprise acquired Backcountry and its family of brands (MotoSport, Competitive Cyclist, Steep & Cheap), adding the specialty outdoor retailer to CSC’s multi-brand, digital-first platform. The deal is supported by a $112.0 million senior secured credit facility provided by Second Avenue Capital Partners, SB360 Capital Partners, and Ares Commercial Finance to refinance prior debt and support the acquisition.

S5 Equity has acquired Heartland America — the owner/operator of the long-running catalog retailer Hammacher Schlemmer — with financing support from Gordon Brothers, which provided a revolving credit facility to back the deal. S5 plans to strengthen customer experience and loyalty while continuing to shift the legacy catalog business toward e-commerce.

True North Energy LLC, a joint venture between the Lyden family and Shell Oil Co., has acquired 15 fee-owned convenience retailing and petroleum marketing assets from Wagner Shell Co./Wagner Oil in the Green Bay, Wisconsin market. The stores — previously owned and operated by Mellissa Wagner and family — will be reimaged to the truenorth brand and continue selling Shell fuel while expanding True North's Wisconsin footprint.

Waterland, a pan‑European private equity investor, has taken a majority share in X²O, the Ghent‑based omni‑channel retailer of bathroom equipment and furniture. Vendis Capital and founder Jan Ollevier retain significant minority stakes; the investment will support X²O's continued international expansion across the Benelux and into Germany.

Northbrook-based Rmarts LLC acquired two legacy Shell gas stations with convenience stores in Highland Park, Illinois, from longtime operator John Kyle Sr., closing the deal in June. Rmarts plans to rebrand and remodel the stores, upgrade foodservice and coffee programs, overhaul a car wash, and add EV charging as it expands its Chicago-area footprint.

Shlok Spirits Corp., led by Vishil Patel, acquired International Beverage Center, Inc. dba SPIRITED Wines, a premium wine and spirits retailer in Lenox, Massachusetts. The transaction closed on August 20, 2024, with Generational Group advising the seller.

S&S Activewear, backed by private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), has agreed to acquire alphabroder from Littlejohn & Co. The acquisition brings together two major North American apparel distributors to expand product offerings, distribution scale and digital capabilities; terms were not disclosed and the deal is expected to close later in the year.

EssilorLuxottica has agreed to acquire the entire share capital of Optical Investment Group (OIG), Romania’s leading optical retailer, from Innova/6 (an Innova Capital fund) and a group of individual minority shareholders. OIG operates 99 stores under the OPTIblu, Optiplaza and O51 banners, with over 650 employees; the transaction is expected to close in Q4 2024 subject to regulatory approvals.

Hilco Consumer-Retail (HCR) completed the acquisition of the operations for Hanes Outlet and Maidenform stores on July 27, 2024. HCR will operate the stores using its RevUp Virtual Store Management program, aims to retain store teams, and will work with landlords to maximize the go-forward store footprint. The transaction represents Hanesbrands' divestiture of its brick-and-mortar store operations to a retail asset and operations specialist.

JD Sports Fashion plc (JD) completed the acquisition of Hibbett, Inc., an athletic-inspired fashion retailer headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, for $87.50 per share (enterprise value ~ $1.1 billion). Hibbett will become part of JD's North American platform while maintaining its Birmingham headquarters and current leadership team.

Baaj Capital has acquired the UK trade and assets of Amscan International and its associated brands Christy's by Design and Ginger Ray from the Wonder Group following administration. AURELIUS Finance Company provided a bespoke, fully revolving senior debt facility to support the acquisition and ongoing working capital, with the deal preserving more than 100 jobs in the process.

St. Cloud Capital, a Los Angeles-based private investment firm, made a growth capital investment in Blufox Mobile, LLC to refinance existing debt and support Blufox's expansion. Blufox Mobile, an authorized retailer of Comcast Xfinity products operating over 100 locations across the eastern United States, will use the flexible capital to open new locations and expand service offerings.

United Refining Co. of Pennsylvania has acquired the convenience retail assets of Pump N' Pantry Inc., a 14-store regional convenience-store chain based in Montrose, Pennsylvania. United Refining will rebrand the stores into its Kwik Fill and Red Apple banners and integrate the locations into its existing retail network across Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio.

Nation's Best Holdings, a Dallas-based holding company focused on home improvement stores, acquired Huntington Lumber & Supply Co., a Do it Best Home Center in Hazlehurst, Mississippi. The transaction closed July 15, 2024, with the Huntington brothers selling the business and remaining in place to manage operations as part of Nation's Best's roll-up strategy to grow independent hardware and building-supply locations.

Soccer Post, the largest community-focused soccer specialty retailer in the United States, has acquired Stefans Soccer, a family-owned specialty retailer operating multiple locations in the greater Milwaukee, Wisconsin area. The acquisition expands Soccer Post’s local-market footprint in Wisconsin and surrounding states and brings Stefans’ team and community-focused retail operations into Soccer Post’s omni-channel platform.

Fressnapf Group has agreed to acquire full control of the Arcaplanet Group from Cinven funds. Concurrently, Cinven funds will make a strategic minority investment in Fressnapf, continuing the two parties' partnership to build a leading omnichannel European pet care platform.

Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) — through its newly created Saks Global business — has agreed to acquire Neiman Marcus Group (NMG) to form a multi-brand luxury retail and real estate platform. The combined company will pair iconic retail brands (Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue and Saks OFF 5TH) with technology, first-party data and strategic investors (including Amazon, Rhône Capital, Insight Partners and Salesforce) to drive personalized omnichannel experiences and unlock real estate value.

The Jim Pattison Group has acquired Save Mart Cos., the Modesto, California-based operator of nearly 200 supermarkets (Save Mart, Lucky California, FoodMaxx and Maxx Value), from private equity firm Kingswood Capital Management. Save Mart will remain headquartered in Modesto with Executive Chairman Shane Sampson and the current management team staying in place; the deal includes Yosemite Wholesale and Save Mart office divisions. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Funds managed by TDR Capital have acquired a majority stake in Acqua & Sapone from an affiliate of H.I.G. Capital, with the Barbarossa family and H.I.G. retaining a significant equity interest. Acqua & Sapone is Italy's leading non-food discount retailer, operating over 700 stores and generating roughly €1.1 billion in annual revenue; TDR says it will work with management and existing shareholders to continue the company's growth.

GENDA Inc., through its U.S. subsidiary Kiddleton, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire all equity interests of National Entertainment Network, LLC (NEN). The acquisition expands GENDA’s U.S. mini-location footprint, integrates NEN’s 8,000-location network and Grand Prairie manufacturing facility with Kiddleton’s higher-sales mini-location operations, and supports GENDA’s U.S. roll-up strategy to grow profit contributions.

Farragut Capital Partners provided unitranche debt and equity alongside Skyline Investors to support Blue Ocean Brands' acquisition of Majik Rent-To-Own, a rent-to-own retail chain headquartered in Mountville, Pennsylvania. The investment will merge Majik's 13 stores into the Blue Ocean platform and fund further add-on acquisitions as part of a buy-and-build growth strategy.

Sports Endeavors, the owner of Soccer.com and a portfolio company of Seawall Capital, has acquired Ewing Sports, a New Jersey–based regional soccer specialty retailer and custom apparel-package supplier. The deal expands Sports Endeavors' presence in the U.S. Northeast and Mid-Atlantic while integrating Ewing Sports' founders and local operations into the broader Soccer.com platform.