Toys R Us Inc

Toys R Us Inc. said Japan's Softbank Corp. has agreed to invest about $57 million for an undisclosed stake in the toy chain's Internet business and pay an additional $10 million for warrants. The warrants would allow it to buy 1.2 million Toys R Us shares at $13 each. Three other investment firms, Blackstone Group, KKR & Co. and Evercore Partners, also agreed to invest undisclosed amounts. Shares of Paramus, N.J.-based Toys R Us closed unchanged at $11.50 in NYSE trading.

Toys R Us Inc. said records from its Internet division have been subpoenaed in an investigation of its privacy practices. The inquiry by New Jersey's Division of Consumer Affairs partially stems from lawsuits that accuse Toysrus.com of illegally sharing personal information about its Internet customers with market researchers, said Jeanne Meyer, spokeswoman for the toy retailer. The division refused to confirm or deny an investigation of Fort Lee, N.J.-based Toysrus.

Toys R Us Inc. said its second-quarter profit would rise by $200 million because of a favorable outcome in an Internal Revenue Service audit of its 1997 to 1999 tax returns. The gain stems from a reversal of tax reserves it previously took, the Wayne, N.J.-based retailer said in a regulatory filing. The reversal will decrease income tax expense and increase net earnings in the quarter ending July 31. The filing was made after the close of regular trading.

Toys R Us Inc. posted third-quarter net income of $29 million, buoyed by proceeds from the sale of stores. The company recorded a net loss of $126 million a year earlier. Sales rose 17% to $2.52 billion, Wayne, N.J.-based Toys R Us said. Toys R Us gained $109 million after selling 38 stores to Vornado Realty Trust, one of the three buyout firms that acquired the retailer in 2005. Revenue rose at international locations and the Babies R Us chain during the quarter.

Toys R Us Inc. said fourth-quarter earnings jumped 76% after lower operating expenses helped mitigate slow holiday sales. Net income rose to $278 million, or $1.30 a share, from $158 million, or 78 cents, a year ago, Toys R Us said. Sales in the period ended Feb. 1 rose 2.3% to $4.87 billion. Shares of Paramus, N.J.-based Toys R Us fell 1 cent to $7.90 on the NYSE.

Toys R Us Inc., months away from being sold to a private consortium, announced that it was unable to file its annual report, due Thursday, because it had not finished calculating changes in how it accounts for leases. The nation's No. 2 toy seller after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. also said the report would probably reveal a weakness in its internal control over financial reporting. Toys R Us shares fell 3 cents to $25.87 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Toys R Us Inc.'s Web site was forced to turn away customers after a promotion that gave coupons and free delivery resulted in a higher-than-expected number of online shoppers. In its annual Big Toy Book newspaper insert Sunday, Toys R Us promised free shipping, discounts on products and a free Tickle Me Elmo toy for purchases of $100 or more for Internet orders made this month. That promotion increased traffic tenfold at its Web site, http://www.toysrus.

Toys R Us Inc. shares surged as the No. 2 U.S. toy seller's third-quarter loss narrowed to $28 million, better than forecast. The net loss shrank to 13 cents a share, from $44 million, or 22 cents, a year earlier. Sales rose 4.3% to $2.27 billion. Toys R Us sold more traditional toys such as Chicken Dance Elmo and the Rapunzel Barbie doll. Toys R Us cut costs and has revamped its more than 600 U.S. stores.