Buyout Update

Barney's: The $825 million bid for the department store chain from Istithmar investment group has been beaten by a $900 bid by Japan's Fast Retailing. This could get interesting!
http://www.fool.com/investing/international/2007/07/09/fast-retailings-big-bid-for-barneys.aspx

Macy's: The new Sears? Possibly, rumor has it that Edward Lampert may be interested in purchasing the company. I think a Sears/Macy's combo would be an even worse marriage than what has happened with the Federated/May merger that created nationwide Macy's. I thought the nationwide Macy's would be a good thing, but some people just cannot get over the lost names of Filene's, Marshall Fields and others. A Sears/Macy's creation would destroy any status that Macy's has as being a fine retailer because of the plainess and lower quality merchandise associated with K-mart and Sears. I think this could be good news for other department stores such as Dillard's and the Bon-Ton group of stores because they are the closest things to Macy's and have some prestige.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070706/apfn_macy_s_mover.html?.v=1

Tiffany & LVMH: Nothing new to report on this merger yet.