It is all back on. Trimingham Brothers Ltd. will finally be buying out arch-rival department store HA&E Smith after pulling out of the multi-million deal last month at the last moment due to financial complications.

Now the buyout will go ahead as planned - but will not be completed until November 1 - two months after it was first slated to be completed.

The deal was initially scrapped because of problems raising finances to complete it - but neither party would speak to the specifics of what issues had caused the collapse at the time.

In a joint press statement issued yesterday, Trimingham's and Smith's said they were "pleased to announce that after further discussions, the combination of the two retail operations will go ahead as planned."

"I am pleased the deal will go ahead," said Roger Davidson, president of Smith's.

"It is good for the shareholders of Smith's and for the staff. And in the long term it will be of benefit to the community."

Mr. Davidson said that they had now had a commitment from the bank that finances were in place.

When asked why the deal had been called off last month, he said: "There were difficulties in organising the finances and they have been rectified. But you should speak to the people next door about that."

Mr. Davidson said that he doubted work would now begin before the Christmas rush on joining the two stores together.

Trimingham's president Lawrence Trimingham last night said the transaction went through after much discussion. "It shows we're committed, the bank is committed and the shareholders are committed to having a strong retail business for local and visiting customers. Putting the two businesses together will undoubtedly lead to the best department store business in Bermuda."

The on again off again deal has taken four years of arduous negotiations to get this far. Every summer rumours surfaced of a buy-out of Smith's by one of the other retail giants surfaced, with Gibbons Company and AS Cooper & Sons Ltd. also named along with Trimingham's.

An ageing department store, Smith's had been suffering for years from a decline in tourism and residents shopping abroad and on the Internet and was in need of both a face lift and a cash injection.

Then on July 29, 2003, a deal was finally announced. With a great deal of fanfare, Trimingham's announced it had bought out Smith's for an undisclosed amount and would, in effect, take over the Front Street store.

But in the middle of September, the two companies issued a joint press release saying that, although shareholders from each had worked hard to bring the businesses together, they regretted that they were "unable to complete the transaction".

"The two companies have concluded discussions amicably and wish each other the best for the future," the September release continued.

But neither side would say why the deal had collapsed or who was behind the original financing for the buy-out.

Now things are back on track and the combination of the two shops will create a huge retail complex spanning three buildings along Queen and Front streets.

The merger was planned to have taken effect from early September - with Smith's retaining their real estate through a leasing arrangement with Trimingham's.

While neither company would reveal the intended sale price, Mr. Davidson said at a press conference announcing the merger in July that Trimingham's had paid more than they wanted to.