Saks Global is poised to exit bankruptcy protection this summer, with a group of bondholders promising to provide the retail giant $500 million in financing to operate its luxury stores, the company said Thursday.
The owner of Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman said it secured a “restructuring support agreement” with some of its secured bondholders, which they hope will give vendors confidence that they will be paid for the merchandise they sell to the luxury department stores.
Details of the agreement have not been disclosed.
Some 650 vendors who pulled back from Saks Global after not being paid have resumed doing business with its stores since it filed for bankruptcy protection on Jan. 14, according to Saks.
Meanwhile, Saks has been focused on shedding unprofitable stores and cost cutting, including slashing about 1,200 jobs.
The Saks Fifth Avenue brand has taken the brunt of the closures, with about 20 stores set to shutter – leaving 13 open – while the majority of Saks Off 5th stores are closing.
Four Neiman Marcus branches are on the chopping block.
Saks Global is expected to keep 32 of the luxury stores open, including one that had been slated to close at the Westchester Mall in White Plains, NY, and was spared at the last minute, as The Post previously reported.
Closing plans were also reversed for one Saks Fifth Avenue store in Sarasota, Fla., and another in Palm Desert, Calif.
Financing from bondholders, expected to reach Saks’ coffers once it is out of bankruptcy, is an “important milestone,” Saks Global chief executive Geoffroy van Raemdonck said in a statement.
The deal “underscores the progress we are making on our transformation and reflects our capital partners’ confidence in our go-forward vision,” he added.
The $500 million infusion is set to come on top of $1.7 billion in debtor financing that Saks Global secured from lenders so it could keep its stores running while it restructures its significant debt.
The company accrued more than $4 billion in debt after it acquired Neiman Marcus in 2024 in a $2.7 billion deal.
The $500 million is “a key milestone on the company’s path to exit bankruptcy,” said Sarah Foss, global head of legal and restructuring at Debtwire.
The company’s full restructuring plan is expected to be filed by April 24, she added.
Saks still appears to have a ways to go before it reaches financial stability.
Despite selling nearly $336 million worth of merchandise in February, the retailer reported a loss of $77 million after expenses, according to court filings.
Still, Saks Global says new inventory it has received from vendors has led to “improved customer engagement,” with customers spending 6% more per store visit compared to the same period last year.
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