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Investing.com -- Luxury retailer Saks Global Enterprises LLC has been downgraded by S&P Global Ratings to ’CC’ from ’CCC+’ following the announcement of a proposed debt restructuring plan.
The rating agency removed all ratings from CreditWatch, where they had been placed with negative implications on May 13, and assigned a negative outlook to the company.
S&P also lowered its issue-level rating on Saks Global’s notes to ’CC’ from ’B’, viewing the planned exchange of notes at a discount to par as "tantamount to a default."
On June 27, Saks Global announced it had secured $600 million of committed financing from existing bondholders. The package includes a $400 million first-in, last out asset-based credit facility and additional commitments of $200 million subject to certain conditions. The deal also involves exchanging $100 million of senior secured notes, with noteholders receiving less value than initially promised and a lower priority ranking.
The company has faced significant challenges with inventory flow, leading to deteriorating operating performance and liquidity issues. As of February 1, availability under Saks Global’s $1.8 billion asset-based lending facility had declined to $415 million due to overdue payments, borrowing base constraints, and seasonal inventory building.
The luxury retailer reported a free operating cash flow deficit of $517 million in 2024. S&P forecasts negative free operating cash flow to continue over the next two years, with the company remaining heavily dependent on its asset-based lending facility.
Despite having real estate assets valued at over $4 billion on a net basis, Saks Global has been unable to monetize these assets quickly enough to meet its financial obligations.
S&P indicated it expects to further downgrade Saks Global to ’SD’ (selective default) or ’D’ (default) upon completion of the proposed transaction. However, the rating could be raised to the ’ CCC (WA:CCCP)’ category if the company does not proceed with the planned restructuring.
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