NWA Takes Big Deals

For those who missed the Top 101 Biggest Deals of 2004 list recently published by our sister publication in Little Rock, Arkansas Business, they’re available online here.

Here are a few revealing stats that popped up:

Three of the Top 10 largest business transactions that were announced last year in Arkansas happened in Bentonville. Together, the trio of deals totaled nearly $10.36 billion.

Two involved Wal-Mart Stores Inc. — a $10 billion company stock buyback program and the retailer’s $300 million acquisition of the 118-store Brazilian supermarket chain Bompreco.

The third local and 10th largest statewide deal was the $55.9 million June sale of Bentonville’s 371,083-SF Beau Terre Office Park to Behringer Harvard Funds in Dallas. BHF is a real estate investment company.

Northwest Arkansas’ original retail vendor haven, the 70-acre Beau Terre development was owned by Colon and Dana Washburn.