The owner of T.J. Maxx has acquired a 35% stake in Dubai-based Brands for Less for $360 million, giving the US discount retailer access to fast-growing consumer markets in the Middle East.

TJX Cos. is buying into the firm at an enterprise value of $1.2 billion, according to a statement. Brands for Less said TJX, with its 5,000 stores globally, would support the firm’s expansion in the Persian Gulf and beyond, including India, Malaysia and Singapore.

The transaction is the latest sign of robust mergers and acquisitions activity in the region, where oil exporters like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are spending heavily to diversify their economies and attract foreign investors.

Brands for Less opened its first store in Lebanon in 1996 but decamped a few years later to Dubai, which at the time was in the early stages of transforming itself into the region’s leading financial hub.

The company now has more than 100 stores in seven markets across the Middle East, selling everything from apparel and homeware to toys at discounts of as much as 80% off the original retail price for well-known brands.

That model has served Brands for Less well during downturns, including the Covid pandemic, Executive Chairman and Co-founder Toufic Kreidieh said in an interview. With TJX’s backing, the firm aims to double the number of stores it operates in the next five years, he said.

Describing shopping for discounted brands as a “treasure hunt,” Kreidieh said businesses like Brands for Less are shielded from recessions. “This is where we really offer ourselves as a solution,” because consumers would rather buy brands at discounted rates than not at all, he said.

Dubai’s deNovo Partners acted as the sole financial adviser while White & Case provided legal counsel to Brands for Less.