Fashion
Saks bonds worth just 1 cent hand hedge funds a painful lesson
By
Bloomberg
Published
January 16, 2026
At first glance, Saks looked like exactly the kind of mess hedge funds love. Just months after the company borrowed $2.2 billion to finance its takeover of rival Neiman Marcus, the newly formed luxury retail powerhouse was already running short on cash. Creditors spooked by the pace of the slide rushed for the exits, offering the bonds for less than 40 cents on the dollar.
Bargain hunting hedge funds gleefully took the debt off their hands. This was, after all, a marquee name with valuable brands, prime real estate, big-name backers, and a business that executives said just needed a bit more time to steady itself. Firms including Pentwater Capital Management and Bracebridge Capital jumped in, chasing the promise of eye-popping returns.
Much is still to be determined in the wake of Saks’ bankruptcy this week, including any recovery for its creditors. Yet in the meantime, the episode is shaping up to be a painful lesson in the dangers of trying to catch a falling knife. The bonds that distressed-debt shops snapped up on the cheap are now being bid at less than 1 cent, according to broker runs. The hundreds of millions in extra financing they provided, which sits higher in the repayment pecking order, isn’t faring much better, changing hands around 10 cents.
Through Saks’ Chapter 11 filing, a clearer picture has emerged of a company that quickly veered off plan. Targets were missed, savings failed to materialise, cash drained at a rapid clip, and fixes meant to stop the bleeding never did. Bonds with roughly $486 million of face value held by Pentwater are now quoted at pennies on the dollar, as are about $257 million held by Bracebridge.
“This was a ticking time bomb, and the fuse was lit the day the merger was consummated,” said Mark Cohen, the former director of retail studies at Columbia Business School. “I’ve never seen anything go bad this fast; I don’t know that anyone has.”
A representative for Saks declined to comment beyond the company’s bankruptcy filing. Pentwater and Bracebridge declined to comment. Even after the staggering declines, Saks’ biggest creditors aren’t ready to throw in the towel.
In its bankruptcy filing, the company said it had secured roughly $1.75 billion in post-petition financing, including $1.5 billion from a group of senior secured bondholders betting a second act could yet salvage the retailer- and their own fortunes, possibly by converting battered debt positions into significant equity stakes.
Some will also collect fees for helping arrange the financing. What’s more, the structure of the post-bankruptcy financing Saks has lined up could allow certain debtholders to realise better returns on the company’s outstanding bonds than where they’re currently trading, some investors suggested.
Pentwater and Bracebridge are among those putting up more money, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Whether it’s enough to turn around a company that burned through more cash than it generated last year remains to be seen. Perennially late payments have “damaged trust” with Saks’ suppliers, the retailer said in bankruptcy documents, and while new management is working to repair those relationships, some vendors may decide to take their business elsewhere.
The company is also facing stiff objections from unsecured creditors, including Amazon.com Inc., that are seeking to block access to the new financing package. The tech giant, which previously acquired a $475 million preferred equity stake in the luxury retailer, recently called its investment in Saks “presumptively worthless.” Other equity holders including Rhone Capital and Insight Partners also suffered significant losses, separate people familiar with the situation said.
Representatives for Amazon and Insight Partners didn’t respond to requests for comment. Rhone Capital declined to comment.
Some investors who opted not to participate in the latest debtor-in-possession financing were concerned that the rescue could echo other recent misfires. They pointed to First Brands Group, the bankrupt auto-parts supplier whose lenders put up more than $1 billion post bankruptcy, only to watch their super-senior bonds crater in value as the company burned through the cash and signalled it would need even more money.
With rescue financing, “you get a lot of structuring fees, an above-market interest rate, liens on the best collateral, an equity cushion below you, with the added upside that you’re in control as the restructuring process plays out,” said Rishi Goel, the global head of distressed debt at Aegon Asset Management.
“But it’s got to be structured correctly. The equity value below you has to be real,” Goel said. “If you’re misled, or the business is worth less than you thought or becomes worse than you thought, the value can dry up quickly.”
For now, Saks has said that stores under all its brands are open. A number of creditors say they are confident that new management, led by former Neiman Marcus Chief Executive Officer Geoffroy van Raemdonck, can steer the company through bankruptcy and, once it emerges, make its portfolio of luxury department stores profitable.
Not everyone is convinced. “The rationale for putting these two businesses together made no sense form the get go, and it’s hard to believe that these deep-pocketed masters of the universe fell for it,” Cohen said.
Following earlier increases in purified terephthalic acid (PTA), melt and PSF, Indian producers have now raised PFY prices. POY, FDY and PTY prices have been increased by ****;* per kg across all deniers and lustres with effect from March *, reflecting rapid cost pass-through amid heightened volatility in crude-linked value chains, according to the market sources.
In the previous weekly revision effective February **, ****, PTA was increased by ****;*.** per kg to ****;**.** per kg, while monoethylene glycol (MEG) was retained at ****;**.** per kg. Polyester melt prices were raised by ****;*.** per kg to ****;**.** per kg. Downstream PSF prices were also revised upward by ****;*.** per kg from March *.
May 2026 cotton settled at 64.59 cents per pound, down 1.02 cents. This marked the lowest settlement price for May contract since February 20, effectively erasing all gains made over that period.
Cotton futures on Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) fell over 1 per cent, with May 2026 settling at 64.59 cents/lb, the lowest since Feb 20, amid Middle East tensions and a stronger US dollar.
Rising inventories and risk aversion pressured prices.
Speculators cut net shorts, while crude oil surged.
ICE cotton traded mixed in early Indian hours today.
Total trading volume for the session came in at 73,225 contracts. ICE-certified deliverable No. 2 cotton inventory rose to 126,178 bales as of February 26, up from 119,457 bales the previous trading day.
The US dollar climbed to its highest level in over a month, making dollar-denominated commodities like cotton more expensive for international buyers and reducing export demand.
Market analysts stated that the Middle East conflict is putting significant pressure on cotton and that a broader risk-aversion tone is affecting the market.
On March 2, Iran continued launching attacks on US military bases across multiple countries in the Middle East, with explosions reported in several locations. An advisor to the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander announced that the Strait of Hormuz had been closed, with Iran threatening to strike any vessels attempting to pass through it.
US President Trump indicated that military action against Iran could last four to five weeks, while also expressing readiness for operations to extend considerably longer.
Major Wall Street indices declined on Monday as the conflict raised fears of disrupted global trade routes and renewed inflationary pressures. Analysts warned that investors appear to be rebuilding short positions in cotton, suggesting continued downward price pressure in the near term. The earlier May contract low of 62.86 cents per pound as a key support level that could be tested again.
CFTC data released the prior Friday showed that speculators reduced their net short positions in ICE cotton futures and options by 26,508 contracts in the week ending February 24, bringing net shorts to 48,922 contracts.
International crude oil and natural gas prices surged sharply on Monday following US and Israeli strikes on Iran, with retaliatory actions forcing the closure of several energy facilities in the region.
This morning (Indian Standard Time), ICE cotton for May 2026 was traded at 64.75 cents per pound (up 0.16 cent), cash cotton at 62.59 cents (down 1.02 cent), the March 2026 contract at 62.59 cents ((down 1.02 cent)), the July 2026 contract at 66.75 cents (up 0.14 cent), the October 2026 contract at 68.18 cents (down 0.49 cent) and the December 2026 at 69.04 cents (up 0.12 cent). A few contracts remained at their previous closing levels, with no trading recorded so far today.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)
If the US administration imposes a 15-per cent levy, the US ETR would rise to 11.3 per cent.
President Donald Trump reinstated tariffs immediately following the US Supreme Court’s February 20 ruling that invalidated the reciprocal tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The new blanket 10-per cent tariff rate is authorised under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 and expires in 150 days unless extended by Congress.
The 10-per cent blanket reciprocal tariff imposed by the US on most trading partners has reduced the US effective tariff rate (ETR) to 9.4 per cent from 12.7 per cent, Fitch Ratings said.
If a 15-per cent levy is imposed, the ETR would rise to 11.3 per cent.
China has the highest ETR among trading partners, followed by Vietnam, Japan and Brazil.
China’s ETR is around 19 per cent from 29 per cent earlier.
Section 122 permits a maximum rate of 15 per cent but does not allow for tariff adjustments for individual countries.
Prior to the court decision, China was subject to two reciprocal tariffs: a fentanyl tariff of 10 per cent that applied to all imports and a 10-per cent reciprocal tariff on an import base subject to carveouts. The two tariffs have been consolidated into the 10-per cent blanket tariff, reducing China’s ETR to around 19 per cent from 29 per cent, Fitch said in a release.
China still has the highest ETR among major trading partners, followed by Vietnam, Japan and Brazil. Of the United States’ 31 largest trading partners, 26 will see their ETRs decline. Brazil benefits the most, with its ETR decreasing by 18 percentage points (pp) to 11 per cent from 29 per cent.
ETRs for most countries largely remain unchanged following the switch in tariff regimes, and no country will see an increase in its ETR if the Section 122 tariff rate remains at 10 per cent.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
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