Business briefs: Starbucks, Spotify in streaming deal

SEATTLE – Starbucks, which in March stopped peddling CDs at the counter, is fully embracing the online music business with a new sidekick: popular streaming service Spotify.

Starbucks and Spotify unveiled a “multi-year” collaboration on Monday that will let baristas and customers have a say in the playlist that runs in each store, and listen to that music at home or elsewhere through either the Starbucks or Spotify apps.

The joint effort will also allow Spotify subscribers to earn points in Starbucks’ growing loyalty program. It’s the first time an outside company is brought into the rewards scheme and a sign of the wide appeal of Starbucks’ “stars.”

The collaboration is scheduled to begin rolling out in the fall.

Lane Bryant owner to buy Ann Taylor

Ascena Retail Group Inc., owner of clothing stores Dress Barn and Lane Bryant, said Monday it would buy fellow women’s retailer Ann Inc. for $2.15 billion.

The deal increases Ascena’s reach in the women’s apparel market. By adding the Ann Taylor and Loft brands to its portfolio, which also includes preteen retailer Justice, the Mahwah, N.J., company will become one of North America’s largest and most diversified specialty apparel retailers, chief executive David Jaffe said.

Ann Inc. stockholders will receive $37.34 in cash and 0.68 of a share of Ascena common stock for a price per share total of $47.

The offer represents a 21.4 percent premium over the Friday closing price of Ann Inc. shares. After closing, Ann Inc. shareholders will own 16 percent of Ascena.

Farmers, ranchers get more drought aid

WASHINGTON – Farmers and ranchers in the West’s worst-hit drought regions will receive an additional $21 million to help them save water and soil despite the long dry spell.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the aid Monday. The assistance will go to areas of the West that are rated in the highest categories of drought. That includes parts of California, Kansas, Idaho, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and Utah.

The aid is meant to help farms and grazing pastures cope with drought through better irrigation, cover crops and other measures.

Fashion brands sue Alibaba over fakes

BEIJING – The owner of fashion brands Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent has accused Alibaba Group in a lawsuit of profiting from sales of counterfeit goods despite the Chinese e-commerce giant’s pledge to combat the trade in fakes.

The lawsuit by France’s Kering SA and a group of its brands in a New York court is a setback for Alibaba’s effort to assure companies and regulators it is doing enough to keep counterfeits off its online sales platforms.

The Alibaba defendants “knowingly encourage, assist, and profit from the sale of counterfeits,” said the lawsuit, filed Friday in U.S. federal court in Manhattan.

Alibaba said it believes the complaint has “no basis” and said the company will fight it.

“We continue to work in partnership with numerous brands to help them protect their intellectual property, and we have a strong track record of doing so,” said a company statement. “Unfortunately, Kering Group has chosen the path of wasteful litigation instead of the path of constructive cooperation.”

Other plaintiffs include Kering brands Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta and Luxury Goods International.