Saks Global wins court approval for $1 billion bankruptcy loan

Saks Global Enterprises won final court approval for a $1 billion bankruptcy loan after reaching deals with luxury-brand vendors that had objected to payment terms, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Alfredo Perez approved the financing following the resolution. The funds clear a major operational hurdle for the parent of Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman as it pursues a Chapter 11 restructuring begun in mid-January.

The company filed voluntary Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas in mid-January and initially announced a roughly $1.75 billion financing commitment to support its turnaround plan. The $1 billion approved in February is the new financing the court authorized after vendors raised concerns about payment for goods shipped before the bankruptcy petition. Saks plans to use $600 million of the newly approved loan to pay vendors and expects to make as much as $330 million of those payments within two weeks, an infusion aimed at keeping supply lines and in-store merchandise intact.

Executives have said stores under the Saks Global umbrella will remain open during the process. The company has outlined a first phase of operational changes that includes optimizing its Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus footprints, with planned closures of eight Saks Fifth Avenue locations and one Neiman Marcus store, the shutdown of most standalone Fifth Avenue Club personal-styling suites, and a consolidation of Horchow.com into the Home category on NeimanMarcus.com. Geoffroy van Raemdonck was named chief executive in the mid-January filings and has signaled an emphasis on stabilizing the business and prioritizing long-term growth initiatives, "vowing to 'strengthen the foundation' while evaluating store footprints."

The bankruptcy traces back to a costly acquisition strategy. Executives and court filings attribute the Chapter 11 to heavy indebtedness tied to the 2024 purchase of Neiman Marcus, reported at roughly $2.65 billion to $2.7 billion in different filings, and to debt taken on for that transaction. The company’s capital structure reportedly includes $2.2 billion in bonds used to finance the acquisition and another $600 million from a refinancing last summer. The filing cites more than 10,000 creditors, and lists both assets and liabilities in the $1 billion to $10 billion range. One industry estimate values the combined U.S. retail real estate holdings brought into the business at roughly $7 billion.

For executives and vendors, the immediate benefit of the court approval is liquidity and predictability. The earmarked vendor payments should reduce the risk of merchandise freezes or supply disruptions at a time when stores are operating under debtor protections. For creditors and potential investors such as Amazon and Authentic Brands Group, which have been identified with interest in the business, the court-sanctioned financing provides a partial roadmap for stabilization but leaves open questions about the broader financing package the company first cited in January.

Analysts say the case will be watched as an indicator for multi-brand department stores facing e-commerce competition, softer consumer demand and concentrated debt loads. For now, the combination of court backing and vendor concessions creates a narrow window for Saks Global to execute closures, reallocate resources and try to preserve the luxury retail brands that remain active on the sales floor.