Target Books $1B Gain on Marshall Field's Sale

MINNEAPOLIS-Target Corp.’s second quarter net income rose to $1.42 billion, or $1.54 a share — more than quadrupling its earnings a year ago — due to a $1.019-billion profit on the sale of its 62 Marshall Field’s to May Department Stores Co. The profit on the sale added $1.11 a share to the retailer’s earnings for the three months ended July 31.

The sale of Marshall Field’s to May, which closed earlier this month, and the recently announced sale of its Mervyn’s division for $1.65 billion to a group of private investors, is part of the discounter’s plan to focus on the Target discount chain. May Department Stores bought the Marshall Field’s stores, which are mostly in the Chicago, Detroit and Twin Cities, and nine Meryvn’s locations in the Twin Cities in a $3.24 billion deal.