Brands like Neiman Marcus don’t usually come up for sale very often, which made it attractive to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), according to André Bourbonnais, senior vice-president, private investments.
“It’s an iconic brand, and we really liked it,” he said at the Companies and Capital event in Toronto on Monday.
There was a small auction process to buy the luxury retailer, and he joked that it’s never good to be the winner because you know you paid the most.
“But that price was well within our model, way below the maximum price we were willing to pay for the company,” Bourbonnais added.
The CPPIB partnered with Ares Management to buy Neiman. The two had partnered before on the purchase of retailer 99¢ Only Stores in 2011.
The deal to acquire Neiman is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2013, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
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