Istithmar PJSC
Dubai Firm Wins Barneys Bidding War
In the early hours of this morning, the Japanese retailer Fast Retailing declined to match a competing bid to buy Barneys New York, paving the way for the Dubai firm of Istithmar to proceed with its purchase of the chain of fancy stores from Jones Apparel Group. read more »
Barneys Suitor Losing Money On UNIQLO Store
Fast Retailing Inc., the Japanese retail giant that owns the UNIQLO chain of cheap-chic clothing stores and which put together a $900 million bid to buy Barneys New York from the Jones Apparel Group, downgraded its forecast for the third time this business year.
According to Reuters:
Having built up an empire of more than 700 stores in Japan, Fast Retailing has pledged to invest up to 400 billion yen over the next three years on acquisitions in a bid to boost its global presence and double annual sales to 1 trillion yen by 2010. read more »
Two Mideast Firms Drive Barneys Bidding Into Billions
WWD is reporting that two investment firms from the Middle East could drive the bidding for Barneys as high as $1.8 billion. We're not so familiar with the Qatar Investment Authority, but the other, Istithmar (a royal-family owned firm from Dubai) has been all over New York lately.
Another for Broadway Partners: Busy Firm Buys 280 Park for Over $1.2 B.
Nielsen Company Ankles Leg Room at 770 Broadway
Stop the Rumor Mill: Istithmar Buys Majority Stake in Mandarin Oriental Hotel
The deal is in contract and is expected to close in February. A 73 percent share of the Time Warner Center hotel has been sold to Istithmar. According to the release from Mandarin Oriental International Limited, the luxury hotel is worth $340 million.
That puts the average room price at $1.37 million, which exceeds the $1.05 million per room that the W Hotel Union Square sold for in October (but less than the $1.4 million to $2 million range that was floating about last week). The Dubai-based Istithmar bought the W, too.
Mandarin Oriental will retain 25 percent of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, down from 50 percent. And Apollo Real Estate and the Related Companies, which together once owned 50 percent as well, will now hold a (very) minority share. Mandarin will continue to manage the hotel under a long-term contract.
- John KoblinSold! Or Maybe Not. Separating Mandarin Oriental Fact from Fiction
The Mandarian Oriental rumor has been the juiciest real estate one floating around New York for the last several weeks, but trying to parse reality from fiction has been tricky.
The execs at Istithmar are keeping typically quiet. "We do not comment on market rumors," wrote David Jackson, the CEO at Istithmar, in an email to The Real Estate.
That's the same response a Mandarin Oriental spokeswoman gave The Observer a month ago.
"Several industry sources" told The Real Deal it was a done deal; "sources" told the Post the same.One Real Deal source has each room being sold at $1.4 million; another has it at $2 million. A Post source has it at "approxiamtely $1.6 million."
To say the least, the details are murky.
If you listened to the rumors, the Mandarin Oriental's been in contract since late October. But with a masterful stroke in keeping this deal very quiet, we have a feeling no one will know if it's truly done -- and for how much -- until it closes.
- John Koblin
