OTTAWA (AFP) - The parent of US retailer Lord & Taylor on Wednesday bought Canada's premiere Hudson's Bay chain for an undisclosed sum, merging two of North America's oldest department store chains.

The deal creates a merchandising titan with 75,000 employees, 5.1 million square meters (55 million square feet) of stores in the United States and Canada, and eight billion US dollars in sales annually for the new owner NRDC Equity Partners of Purchase, New York.

The merger offers "an unprecedented opportunity to recreate the retail landscape in North America," said NRDC's Richard Baker, who will serve as chief executive of the newly consolidated Hudson's Bay Trading Company and become the 38th governor of the Hudson's Bay Company.

"Enormous potential exists by upgrading the offerings" at the Canadian chain and by introducing Lord & Taylor to the Canadian marketplace, he said.

Hudson's Bay was established in 1670 and is North America's oldest continually operating company, with about 580 outlets. Spinoffs from the venerable company include Retailers Zellers, Home Outfitters and Fields.

Founded in 1826, Lord & Taylor is one of America's oldest retailers with 47 US stores, including its legendary flagship on New York's Fifth Avenue. NRDC also owns speciality jewellery and home furnishings store Fortunoff.

In a statement, NRDC said it would convert 10 to 15 Hudson's Bay stores to the more upscale Lord & Taylor to fill "a gap in the Canadian retail landscape between The Bay department stores and Holt Renfrew."

The acquisition of Hudson's Bay comes just three months after the death of Jerry Zucker, the South Carolina businessman who acquired the company in early 2006 for 1.1 billion dollars and took it private.

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