Saks Global secures $300 million bankruptcy funding, bondholders back five-year plan

March 16 (Reuters) – Saks Global said on Monday it has got access to $300 million more of its $1.75 billion bankruptcy funding package, and said an ad hoc group of bondholders has approved the luxury retailer’s five-year business plan.

The company, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January and values its overall bankruptcy financing package at $1.75 billion, had said it needed the funds to repair vendor relationships and buy time to renegotiate its debt.

The company said on Monday that the tranche completes its “pre‑emergence financing package,” giving the retailer sufficient liquidity to support operations.

Key elements of the bondholder-backed business plan, which assumes growth and profitability helped by strong liquidity, will be included in Saks Global’s plan of reorganization, which is expected to be filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas within the next several weeks, the company said on Monday.

Saks Global has used its bankruptcy to shutter most of its lower-priced retail stores. It has closed 20 of 33 Saks Fifth Avenue retail stores since filing for Chapter 11 with $3.4 billion in debt. 

The company said it has improved its inventory flow, with shipping resumed by nearly 600 brands releasing $1.4 billion in retail receipts.

“We have made significant progress over the past two months as we work to position Saks Global for the future, quickly stabilizing our business, improving inventory flow and investing in our transformation,” said Geoffroy van Raemdonck, CEO of Saks Global. 

(Reporting by Sanskriti Shekhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)