DFS Won’t Make Offer for Bankrupt Barney’s

DFS Group said it won’t bid for Barney’s Inc., dashing the bankrupt retailer’s hopes for a sweeter purchase price. DFS, the San Francisco-based unit of Paris-based LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton and the operator of duty-free shops, said that while it had negotiated with Barney’s management and creditors, some creditors demanded too much money and had an “unrealistic view” of the value of the New York-based company. Barney’s had received a bid from Hong Kong-based Dickson Concepts International to buy 51% of the retailer for $322 million in cash, debt and equity. However, the offer ran into snags. The retailer, which operates nine specialty clothing stores and 13 smaller outlet stores, entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in 1996 and has until March 11 to file a plan to exit the proceedings.