Barneys may be closer to a deal

Barneys New York may have found someone to keep it in business. 

A group of fashion executives, led by fashion trade-show executive Sam Ben-Avraham, is preparing a bid of about $220 million to acquire the luxury retailer as a going concern, reported the Wall Street Journal. Ben-Avraham who runs the high-end fashion trade shows, Project and Liberty Fairs, was also an early investor in retail brand Kith. 

At a bankruptcy hearing on Thursday, Barneys’ lawyer said the company was in “advanced negotiations” with a buyer. The judge consequently extended the deadline for bids until Oct. 11. If a deal fails to materialize by that date, Barneys’ lenders Brigade Capital Management and B. Riley Financial Inc. could ask the court to liquidate the company.

Barneys filed for bankruptcy protection in August with a plan to shrink its store footprint as it looked to find a buyer to breathe new life into its struggling operations.