Bankrupt Brooks Brothers Group Inc. agreed to be bought Authentic Brands Group LLC and an entity it owns with mall landlord Simon Property Group Inc. after getting the bidders to pay an added $20 million for the two-century-old men’s clothing retailer, Bloomberg News reported. Authentic Brands and Sparc Group LLC will pay $325 million and expects to keep at least 125 locations open. Authentic recently bought Barneys New York out of bankruptcy and specializes in turning around beaten-down apparel brands. Simon, one of the biggest U.S. mall operators, needs tenants like Brooks Brothers to attract shoppers. The duo had previously disclosed they were bidding $305 million in a court-supervised auction for Brooks Brothers’ global business operations. WHP Global, owner of the Joseph Abboud and Anne Klein brands, dropped out after saying Brooks Brothers had discouraged it from making a higher bid. Brooks Brothers said on July 8 when it filed for bankruptcy that it had about 500 stores worldwide in 45 countries, with 200 in North America.
