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Italian entrepreneur Claudio Antonioli buys Belgian fashion brand Ann Demeulemeester. A new start for the Antwerp Six icon, which is currently also without a creative director.

Now that top executive Olaf Koch has announced his departure, Czech investor Daniel Kretinsky is making a fresh attempt to get his hands on the German foodservice company Metro.

Luxury group LVMH has decided to cancel its acquisition of American jeweller Tiffany's, saying it follows a request by the French government. A tough legal battle is expected to follow.

Carrefour has acquired Spanish supermarket chain Supersol for 78 million euros. The 172 stores will be rebranded into the French group's existing store concepts Express, Market or Supeco.

German shoe group Deichmann has acquired 43 of the over 100 stores of bankrupt shoe chain Brantano, saving 300 jobs in the process. The saved stores will join Deichmann's Dutch vanHaren brand, which quadruples its presence in Belgium.

Mixed feelings for the employees of the bankrupt FNG group. While three chains are saved by local competitor Claes Retail Group (CRG), things are looking bleak for the group's biggest chain, Brantano.

The planned merger between GrandVision and EssilorLuxottica is all but dead, as the former now agrees that the deal should be stopped... provided the French-Italian company pays a 400 million euro fee, sparking just another battle in the eyewear war.