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