Sale of U.S. Shoe Collapses: U.S. Shoe...

Sale of U.S. Shoe Collapses: U.S. Shoe Corp. said a $422.5-million deal to sell its footwear division to an investment group headed by Merrill Lynch Capital Partners Inc. has fallen through. The company said Merrill Lynch advised it that certain conditions of the agreement have not been met and that it did not intend to buy the unit on originally specified terms. It did not elaborate. The company, a footwear, clothing and eye-care company whose brand-name shoes include Calvin Klein and Capezio, agreed in February to the buyout, which included the sale of its name and headquarters as part of a restructuring designed to head off a possible hostile takeover bid.