Zayre Corp

Ames Sues Investment Bank Over Advice: Ames Department Stores Inc. filed a $375-million lawsuit against investment bank Wertheim Schroder & Co. for offering alleged faulty advice in a takeover that eventually forced Ames into bankruptcy. Wertheim was the investment banker for Ames in the $788-million takeover of Zayre Corp. in 1988, which gave the company 392 stores in New England but also saddled it with huge debts.

In one of the biggest mass firings ever by a U.S. company, Ames Department Stores said Friday that it plans to dismiss nearly 18,000 workers and close 221 stores in the South and Midwest to try to pull itself out of bankruptcy. The move, analysts said, both demonstrates the human toll being taken by ill-conceived takeovers and reflects the tumult in the U.S. retailing industry. But the cutback also was called a necessary, dramatic action to return Ames to financial health.

Zayre Corp., in a move to boost profits after the sale of its money-losing Zayre Stores unit in October, said Monday that it will spin off its Warehouse Clubs division and then buy the 17% of TJX Cos. it does not already own. Zayre said it would change its name after the merger to TJX Cos. effective at the Zayre annual meeting in June. Zayre had spun off a minority interest in TJX, a profitable off-price retailer, in 1987. One analyst said the deal would value TJX at $32 a share or about $1.

The Framingham, Mass.-based retailer said it will sell 16% of its ownership for $200 million in a bid to raise cash and bolster its stock price. Zayre shares last week advanced $2.125 to $26 in heavy trading as Wall Street responded favorably to the plan, which places a value of about $1.2 billion on the off-price division as a whole. The offering will give stock market investors the first chance to buy shares of a large off-price business, aside from such regional chains as Syms Corp.

Malcolm L. Sherman has been named chairman of Zayre Stores, a division of Framingham, Mass.-based Zayre Corp.

Zayre Corp., the Massachusetts retailer that owns Fullerton-based HomeClub, has agreed to sell its ailing discount-store division to Ames Department Stores in a deal valued at about $800 million. With Zayre's 388 discount department stores, Ames will roughly double the number of discount stores it operates--and more than double its revenue--making it the third-largest discount retailer in the country.

Ames Sues Investment Bank Over Advice: Ames Department Stores Inc. filed a $375-million lawsuit against investment bank Wertheim Schroder & Co. for offering alleged faulty advice in a takeover that eventually forced Ames into bankruptcy. Wertheim was the investment banker for Ames in the $788-million takeover of Zayre Corp. in 1988, which gave the company 392 stores in New England but also saddled it with huge debts.

J. C. Penney Co., the nation's third-largest retailer, said Tuesday that its profit declined 21.3% in the second quarter, and No. 5 retailer Zayre Corp. said it had a $21.9-million loss. Dayton Hudson Corp., which operates the Mervyn's chain, said its second-quarter profit rose 24%. Chicago-based Carson Pirie Scott lost $8.1 million; it had a $45.7-million loss in the year-ago quarter.

Zayre Corp., in a move to boost profits after the sale of its money-losing Zayre Stores unit in October, said Monday that it will spin off its Warehouse Clubs division and then buy the 17% of TJX Cos. it does not already own. Zayre said it would change its name after the merger to TJX Cos. effective at the Zayre annual meeting in June. Zayre had spun off a minority interest in TJX, a profitable off-price retailer, in 1987. One analyst said the deal would value TJX at $32 a share or about $1.

Zayre Corp., the Massachusetts retailer that owns Fullerton-based HomeClub, has agreed to sell its ailing discount-store division to Ames Department Stores in a deal valued at about $800 million. With Zayre's 388 discount department stores, Ames will roughly double the number of discount stores it operates--and more than double its revenue--making it the third-largest discount retailer in the country.

J. C. Penney Co., the nation's third-largest retailer, said Tuesday that its profit declined 21.3% in the second quarter, and No. 5 retailer Zayre Corp. said it had a $21.9-million loss. Dayton Hudson Corp., which operates the Mervyn's chain, said its second-quarter profit rose 24%. Chicago-based Carson Pirie Scott lost $8.1 million; it had a $45.7-million loss in the year-ago quarter.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange said Tuesday that it is investigating trading of Zayre Corp. options in what one member called "probably the most blatant insider trading scandal I've seen." The alleged irregular trading activity occurred in mid-September, just before a newspaper reported that Zayre, one of the nation's largest discount-store chains, may be the target of a takeover bid.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange said Tuesday that it is investigating trading of Zayre Corp. options in what one member called "probably the most blatant insider trading scandal I've seen." The alleged irregular trading activity occurred in mid-September, just before a newspaper reported that Zayre, one of the nation's largest discount-store chains, may be the target of a takeover bid.

A year after its $151-million purchase of HomeClub Inc., the Zayre Corp. is losing money with the home-improvement chain, and some industry analysts are saying that the acquisition was a big mistake. Herb Zarkin, 48, who last August succeeded HomeClub founder Robert J.

The Framingham, Mass.-based retailer said it will sell 16% of its ownership for $200 million in a bid to raise cash and bolster its stock price. Zayre shares last week advanced $2.125 to $26 in heavy trading as Wall Street responded favorably to the plan, which places a value of about $1.2 billion on the off-price division as a whole. The offering will give stock market investors the first chance to buy shares of a large off-price business, aside from such regional chains as Syms Corp.

A year after its $151-million purchase of HomeClub Inc., the Zayre Corp. is losing money with the home-improvement chain, and some industry analysts are saying that the acquisition was a big mistake. Herb Zarkin, 48, who last August succeeded HomeClub founder Robert J.