May Department Stores Co. (St. Louis) announced its intentions to purchase 13 going-out-of-business stores from Montgomery Ward (Chicago). The purchase should be finalized by the beginning of April. May will reopen most of the former Montgomery Ward stores in 2002. The country's number two upscale department store chain will also complete the purchase of nine stores from Saks Inc. (Birmingham, Ala.) later this month. May has about 420 stores coast-to-coast under a dozen names: Lord & Taylor, Foley's, Filene's, Hecht's, Strawbridge's, Robinsons-May, Famous-Barr, L.S. Ayres, Meier & Frank, The Jones Store, Kaufmann's and ZCMI.