Earlier this summer, when I reported that LVMH was once again Mr. Burnsing around Bergdorf Goodman, which is owned by the Neiman Marcus Group, another story emerged. It turned out that Richard Baker, chairman of Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), which owns Saks Fifth Avenue, was once again fundraising—this time in the Middle East, potentially to buy the Neiman Marcus Group. “Richard needs money,” one person familiar with his moves told me. 

Well, it seems that the circumstances have changed! I learned today that Baker has raised $2 billion from two sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East in order to buy the Dallas-based department store group, including Bergdorf Goodman. A spokesperson for HBC declined to comment.

Neiman Marcus Group’s investors, which bailed the company out of bankruptcy in 2020, are motivated P&L artists looking to perfect the income statement in pursuit of an exit. Majority owners PIMCO, Davidson Kempner Capital Management, and Sixth Street are not here for the long haul. Let’s see what they make of a Baker deal. (A rep for NMG declined to comment on the recent speculation.)

Baker, who bought Saks a decade ago, is first and foremost a real estate developer, like many of the men I write about. His business is in buying and selling leases and buildings, like when he made $850 million selling the majority of Manhattan’s Lord & Taylor flagship to WeWork in 2017—a deal that included a $500 million equity investment from Rhone capital, reducing HBC’s debt by $1.1 billion at the time.