The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition home improvement retailer Rona ($16.06) has rejected lingering suggestions that it would be better off in the long run to merge with Lowe's. The Globe's Nicolas Van Praet quotes chairman Robert Chevrier as saying after Rona's annual meeting Tuesday, "Honestly, unless it's a real knockout price, I think people are satisfied that the stock price is climbing." Rona's shares have roared back since hitting a 10-year low of $8.70 in 2011. Lowe's, based in Mooresville, N.C., made a non-binding offer of $14.50 per share for Rona in July, 2012, just as a provincial election campaign began in Quebec. The bid became politicized, with the incumbent Liberal government vowing to prevent the takeover. Since then, Rona has implemented a turnaround plan under new chief executive officer Robert Sawyer in which it scaled down operations, repositioned banners and became more aggressive on marketing; but the idea of joining the two companies lives on. "We continue to be of the view that Rona and Lowe's Canada would be much more competitive with Home Depot Canada if they were to combine forces," Desjardins Capital Markets analyst Keith Howlett wrote in an April 9 note.