New Bid for Barneys

Jones Apparel Group Inc. (Bristol, Pa.) has received a newer, larger bid for its Barneys New York Inc. subsidiary, also from overseas.

Fast Retailing Co. Ltd. (Yamaguchi, Japan) has made an unsolicited offer of $900 million, higher than the $825 million offered last month by Istithmar, the private equity arm of the Dubai government.

According to Reuters, Jones said it will provide financial information and enter negotiations with Fast, though its agreement with Istithmar remains in effect. Jones would have to pay Istithmar a $20.6 million breakup fee if it terminated their agreement — $22.7 million if it terminated the deal after July 22. Under their agreement, Jones can weigh other offers made for Barneys until that date and it can explore bids for the whole company through August 11. Jones put itself up for sale last year but failed to find a buyer.

Reuters said Istithmar was not immediately available for comment.

Fast Retailing, often described as “the Gap of Japan,” operates nearly 740 Uniqlo stores in Japan, the U.K., China and the U.S. It buys most of its clothes from 60 factories in China.