JCPenney owner makes bid for Kohl’s

Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management are offering to acquire retailer Kohl’s in a deal that would be worth more than $8.6 billion, according to a report in the New York Post.

Simon and Brookfield, which bought rival department-store chain JCPenney out of bankruptcy, have offered $68 a share, according to people with knowledge of the talks whom the Post didn’t identify.

Shares of Kohl’s jumped as much as 4.5% on the news. Simon Property stock fell 1.5% and Brookfield shares fell 0.9%.

A Kohl’s spokesperson and an outside spokesperson for JCPenney didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment.

Kohl’s has been under pressure from activist investors including Macellum Capital Management, which is seeking to take control of the company’s board.

Coca-Cola sales surged 16%

Sales at Coca-Cola surged 16% during the first quarter as crowds returned to movie theaters, music venues and sport stadiums, offsetting rising input costs for the company and the suspension of operations in Russia.

Coca-Cola was among the companies to pull the plug on Russian operations after the country invaded neighboring Ukraine.

But on Monday, it stuck by earlier revenue growth projections of 7% to 8% and per-share growth of 5% to 6% for the year.

The Atlanta company posted net income of $2.78 billion, or 64 cents per share, topping Wall Street’s expectations for per-share earnings by 6 cents, according to a survey by Zacks Investment Research.

The world’s largest beverage maker posted revenue of $10.49 billion in the period, also exceeding industry analyst forecasts of $9.91 billion.

Sales of Coca-Cola Zero Sugar increased 14%, while sales of its namesake Coca-Cola soft drink rose 6%. Overall sales for the sparkling soft drink category climbed 7%.

From wire reports