Istithmar, a private equity and alternative investment house owned by the government of Dubai, has agreed to acquire Barneys New York, the luxury specialty retailer, from Jones Apparel Gro
Istithmar, a private equity and alternative investment house owned by the government of Dubai, has agreed to acquire Barneys New York, the luxury specialty retailer, from Jones Apparel Group for USD825m.
Barneys New York has flagship stores in New York City, Beverly Hills, Chicago, Boston and Dallas and also operates two regional full-price stores, fourteen Co-op Barneys New York stores, and 13 outlet stores.
‘We are excited to acquire Barneys New York,’ says Khaled Al Kamda, vice-chairman of Istithmar World. ‘We believe that the luxury market generally and the Barneys platform specifically have incredible growth prospects.’
Adds Istithmar chief executive David Jackson: ‘This investment will further our continued focus on the retail sector. We believe that we will be able to accelerate the growth of Barneys’ business by leveraging our experience in the sector and other investments worldwide.’
Barneys president and chief executive Howard Socol says: ‘The execution of our growth strategy over the past few years and the hard work and dedication of our talented employees has increased the value of our company and made Barneys attractive to Istithmar. This transaction further enhances our ability to develop our brand and grow our business. We look forward to continued expansion of our flagship, Co-op and outlet concepts to help us realise the untapped potential of the Barneys brand.’
Peter J. Solomon Company and Citi acted as M&A advisors to Istithmar, while Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton acted as legal advisor. Citi is providing committed financing for the acquisition and is taking an equity position.
Based in Dubai and with offices in Shanghai and New York, Istithmar was established in 2003 and is 100 per cent owned by Dubai World, which in turn is wholly owned by the government of the Gulf emirate. Over the past three years, Istithmar has invested more than USD2bn in more than 30 companies in the consumer, industrial and financial services sectors.
