VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Giant U.S. discount department store KMART Corp. paid $1.4 million for violating the False Claims Act by illegally using promotional materials to convince Medicare beneficiaries to fill prescriptions at its pharmacies, said the U.S. Justice Department Tuesday.

U.S. retail mall vacancies rose in the fourth quarter from the third, mainly due to the closure of some Sears Holdings Corp (SHLD.O) stores, according to real estate research firm Reis Inc (REIS.O).

The head of Sears Holdings Corp's online operations and a key member of Chief Executive Eddie Lampert's management team has resigned and will leave the company in February to pursue a new opportunity, the retailer said.

Office-supply retailer Staples Inc (SPLS.O) said about 1.16 million payment cards might have been affected by the data breach announced in October.

Tax rules and concerns about Sears Holdings Corp's (SHLD.O) tenuous financial condition may force CEO Eddie Lampert to do a complicated dance as he plans to spin off the retailer's best real estate into a separate trust.

Sears Holdings Corp (SHLD.O) said it was the victim of a cyberattack that likely resulted in the theft of some customer payment cards at its Kmart stores, the latest in a series of computer security breaches to hit U.S. companies and dealing a fresh blow to the struggling U.S. retailer.

Struggling Sears Holdings Corp (SHLD.O) said it would raise up to $380 million by selling most of its stake in Sears Canada Inc (SCC.TO) through a rights issue, generating much-needed cash ahead of the crucial holiday shopping season.

Private equity firm Hellman & Friedman is reportedly considering to sell Catalina Marketing Corp. in a deal that could fetch $2 billion to $2.5 billion. Catalina provides customer-driven marketing services to over 25,000 grocery, drug and department stores in the US.

Sears Holdings Corp, which had been selling and closing stores to turn around its business, will be spinning off its Lands' End clothing business. The spinoff will be through a pro rata distribution of the apparel retailer's shares to Sears shareholders.

More investors discouraged by the declining fortunes of ESL Investment's stake in Sears Holdings Corp. are heading for the exit. American billionaire Edward Lampert owns ESL Investments and leads Sears Holdings.

Despite the rally posted by Sears Holding Corp on the stock exchange this year, which made it one of the best performers of the US listed stocks held by hedge fund ESL Partners, a Bloomberg report said some of the investors of hedge fund were not happy about it at all.

Retail giant Sears is closing its underperforming assets.

Sears Holdings Corp said on Thursday that it planned to spin off its Canadian arm into a separate company and sell a large part of its stake.

bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals involving European, U.S. and Asian companies were reported by 1030 GMT on Thursday.