Brief: Amazon buys Zappos
In an effort to boost the company's online shoe sales, Amazon.com has acquired online shoe and merchandise retailer Zappos for about $850 million in stock (which rose to above $900 million by the time the day was over). Amazon.com currently sells shoes through its main e-commerce site Endless.com, which was launched in 2007. Zappos appears to be Amazon's biggest acquisition in recent years. The deal is expected to close in the fall.