NEWS IN BRIEF

Wal-Mart unit buys California tech firm

Wal-Mart Global eCommerce, an Internet technology company within the world's largest retailer, has acquired product-search company Adchemy in California's Silicon Valley, adding more than 60 technology specialists to one of the retailer's fastest-growing business segments, Wal-Mart said Tuesday.

It's the 12th acquisition and the largest in terms of head count since Wal-Mart bought Kosmix in 2011, said Wal-Mart spokesman Ravi Jariwala. Kosmix was the genesis of @WalMartLabs, the innovation and technology hub of Wal-Mart Global eCommerce. The transferred employees include six to seven with doctorate degrees and a skilled engineering team, Jariwala said. The additions add critical engineering and analytics expertise to teams in various areas including search, data analytics and marketing, he said.

Wal-Mart Global eCommerce sales grew to more than $10 billion during Wal-Mart's fiscal 2014, a 30 percent increase from sales the year before, surpassing Amazon's 20 percent sales growth during the year that ended Dec. 31, according to data from trade publication Internet Retailer.

-- Cyd King

Bank of Ozarks CEO Rotarians' honoree

The Downtown Rotary Club in Little Rock on Tuesday honored George Gleason, chairman and chief executive officer of Bank of the Ozarks, as its 25th Business and Professional Leader of the Year.

The club presents the award to recognize someone who is not a Rotarian for service to the state and local communities in civic and professional areas. The honoree is recognized as being successful in his business or profession and has made substantial contributions to the growth of the state.

Gleason was a 25-year-old business lawyer in Little Rock in 1979 when he bought the Ozark-based bank, which had $28 million in assets. Bank of the Ozarks now has $4.8 billion in assets.

Bank of the Ozarks has more than 130 offices in Arkansas, California, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, Florida, Alabama, South Carolina and New York.

-- David Smith

Arkansas Index slips 4.04, ends at 328.54

The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, fell 4.04 to 328.54 Tuesday.

"The major averages finished in negative territory fueled by weakness in the financial and technology sectors and investor concern over the increasing tensions in Ukraine," said Bob Williams, senior vice president and managing director of Delta Trust Investments Inc. in Little Rock.

Shares of Murphy USA, First Federal Bancshares, Home BancShares and America's Car-Mart all declined by 3 percent or more, Williams said.

Total volume of the index was 20.8 million shares.

The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.

Business on 05/07/2014

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