Dubai firm to buy Barneys New York for $950 million

If you are “Dubai” and want to be the New New York, you can’t do it without having Barneys. That’s why you go and buy it …

New York Post just revealed that Dubai private equity firm Istithmar is going to finalize purchase of Barneys New York, the luxury department store chain, for around $950 million. Two private equity firms bought Barneys in 1999 and subsequently sold it in 2004 to Jones Apparel Group, parent company of Barneys, for $400 million.

It is not the first time that Middle East investors go for upscale American department stores. Investcorp, a Bahrain-based investment firm, had acquired Saks Fifth Avenue and taken it public before. Let’s see what Istithmar guys will be doing with Barneys. (As a minimum, expect Carrie Bradshaw’s favorite store to open something here in Dubai …)

Update: The deal and final price is now confirmed: $825 Million