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Apex Tool Group, the makers of Crescent wrenches, Lufkin measuring tapes and some Craftsman brand hand tools, is in final negotiations with Bain Capital, according to a report by Reuters and other media outlets. The private equity firm that was co-founded by U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney has reportedly offered more than $1.5 billion for Apex, which is a joint venture between Danaher Corp. and Cooper Industries.

Reuters news service has reported that the shareholders of Sears Holding Corp. will end up with 80% of the common stock in Orchard Supply Hardware stores, following an attempt to spin off the California hardware chain into a separate unit.

A report released Friday by Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan found that consumer confidence in the United States rose unexpectedly in October, a signal that an economic recovery process may still be intact.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final index of consumer sentiment climbed to 60.9 from 59.4 in September, beating Bloomberg News economists’ projections of a drop to 58.

The preliminary reading for the month was 57.5.

Canadian home-improvement retailer RONA is still looking for commercial and pro-oriented acquisitions in the United States -- and it has as much as C$300 million (US$316 million) to spend, according to a Reuters article. 

RONA CEO Robert Dutton told Reuters in an interview last week that his Quebec-based company is focusing on U.S. distributors or commercial and professional-orientated units, rather than customer-facing retail stores.