Tax evasion probe looks at more Swiss banksThe Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into Swiss regional banks that it suspects may have helped scores of wealthy Americans evade taxes despite a broad crackdown on Swiss secrecy, two people briefed on the investigation said on Thursday. As part of the investigation, the latest effort to pry open the often opaque Swiss system, federal authorities are looking at Wall Street banks that provide banking services to the regional companies, known as cantonal banks, these people said. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, they said that the Wall Street banks might have been used by the regional banks to pool client money so that individual clients could not be identified by U.S. authorities.
Jo-Ann Stores going private in $1.6B dealFabric and craft store chain Jo-Ann Stores Inc. is being taken private by investment firm Leonard Green & Partners LP for about $1.6 billion, the latest in a series of billion-dollar retail buyouts. The deal is the most recent in a flurry of retail buyouts that have occurred in the past three months. Last month preppy fashion retailer J. Crew Group Inc. agreed to be purchased for $3 billion in a deal that also involves Leonard Green & Partners, along with private equity firm TPG Capital. The transaction is valued at $61 per share cash, a 34 percent premium to Jo-Ann's Wednesday closing price of $45.63. Shares closed Thursday at $60.19, up $14.56 or 32 percent.
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