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Federal Realty expanding in California

As part of an effort to expand in California, Federal Realty Investment Trust bought Westgate Mall, a hybrid center in San Jose, from M&H Realty Partners for $97 million. All but 11 percent of the 637,000-square-foot center, whose anchors are Burlington Coat Factory, Safeway and Target, is open-air. The purchase brings Federal Realty’s California holdings to about 2 million square feet. The company says it is seeking additional acquisitions in the Bay area, Los Angeles and San Diego markets.

CVS overtaking Walgreen

The $2.2 billion acquisition of 1,260 Eckerd stores from J.C. Penney will make CVS the largest drugstore chain in the country, surpassing Walgreen Co. Post-purchase, the total number of CVS units will exceed 5,000. Walgreen had 4,368 stores as of April 2. J.C. Penney is selling 1,539 other Eckerd stores to The Jean Coutu Group, a Canadian drugstore owner, for $2.4 billion. That will bring Coutu, which owns the New England-based Brooks Pharmacy chain, to a total of 2,196 units in North America. Penney says its decision to sell was driven by the need to concentrate on its core department store business. The parties expect to close the deal sometime during the second quarter.

Albertsons entering New England

Albertsons’ move into New England by means of a $2.5 billion acquisition of the Shaw’s Supermarkets and Star Markets chains will make it the second-largest grocer in the region, behind Stop & Shop. Albertsons, already the second-largest grocer in the country, with 2,300 units, is buying Shaw’s and Star from Britain’s J. Sainsbury. The companies expect to close the deal sometime during the second quarter. Following the purchase Albertsons will operate a total of 202 units in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; Stop & Shop has 340 stores, the majority of them in New England.

Too’s Justice concept to grow

Apparel retailer Too’s newly launched Justice clothing chain could grow larger than its 555-store Limited Too brand, the New Albany, Ohio-based company says. Justice, launched in January as a retailer for girls 7 to 14 years old, will be located predominantly in power centers. Limited Too caters to the same demographic but operates mainly in malls. Some of the Justice stores, however, will be replacing mall-based Mishmash stores, a concept for teen girls that the retailer abandoned last year. Items at Justice stores are up to 30 percent cheaper than similar ones at Limited Too.

Hollywood Video parent going private

Private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners is buying Hollywood Entertainment, parent of the Hollywood Video chain, for $14 per share, or about $840 million. The deal will make Hollywood Entertainment private. The chain operates 1,920 U.S. stores, making it second in size only to Blockbuster, which has 8,900 units worldwide, more than half of them in the United States. A group of Hollywood Video shareholders filed a lawsuit early last month to block the deal, saying the price is too low.