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Exclusive | Saks owner races to raise $1B in financing as CEO steps down: sources

admin — Sat, 03 Jan 2026 06:26:57 +0000

The owner of Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman is in a race to land more than $1 billion in rescue financing from new and existing investors – even as the company announced its CEO is stepping down, The Post has learned.

The luxury giant needs a cash infusion to pay off a slew of debts that include a $100 million interest payment to bondholders that came due earlier this week. The company also owes millions to vendors, many of whom have not been paid in full for more than a year.

Saks is now in discussions with investors for a massive cash injection to stave off a possible bankruptcy filing, a source with knowledge of the situation told The Post. If those talks fail, the capital could take the form of debtor-in-possession financing in a Chapter 11 reorganization, the source said.

Marc Metrick stepped down as CEO of Saks Global. WWD via Getty Images

“The discussions will likely wrap up within a couple of weeks,” this source said. “It’s not resolved yet.”

Reports of a possible bankruptcy ramped up this week after the luxury retailer missed an interest payment to bondholders on Tuesday for the $2.7 billion it borrowed to acquire Neiman Marcus a year ago.

Saks Global appears to have bought itself a 30-day grace period for the interest payment, according to RetailStat, which provides credit data and analysis on retailers.

Meanwhile, Saks Global announced on Friday that CEO Marc Metrick is stepping down after a decade at the helm.

Executive chairman, Richard Baker, succeeded Metrick as CEO. Saks Global

“After nearly three decades with Saks, I will be stepping down as chief executive officer,” Metrick said in a statement. “From building a world-class team to establishing Saks.com as a leading luxury e-commerce platform, I am proud of what we accomplished.”

He is succeeded by the company’s executive chairman, Richard Baker, a real estate mogul who was previously CEO before the Neiman Marcus acquisition.

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The company said Metrick, who led Saks Fifth Avenue since 2015, is leaving to “pursue new opportunities.”

Saks Global’s revenues, which include Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Off 5th, dropped 13% in the company’s most recent quarter, which ended Aug. 2.

Saks Global has vast real estate holdings, which it has begun to leverage to raise capital. Bloomberg via Getty Images

In May, the company closed a Saks Fifth Avenue store in San Francisco. This week, it sold the land beneath its Beverly Hills Neiman Marcus shop to Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. for an undisclosed amount. The store now has a long-term lease with the New York-based Ashkenazy.

In June, Saks Global said it raised $600 million in fresh capital from bondholders. It has also sought to sell a minority stake in Bergdorf to raise more funds.

The merger with Nieman Marcus coincided with a slump in demand for luxury goods.

Saks Fifth Avenue fell behind on its payments to vendors. DW labs Incorporated – stock.adobe.com

There have been several rounds of layoffs this year at the company, which operates more than 70 department stores and is the largest luxury retailer in the world.

“Marc has been a valued leader at Saks for many years, helping to drive significant transformation and growth while solidifying the company’s enduring position in luxury,” Baker said in statement. “We thank Marc for his leadership and dedication and wish him continued success in his next chapter.”

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Apple, F1 reach 5-year media deal, bringing races to Apple TV streaming

admin — Fri, 17 Oct 2025 15:55:15 +0000

Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 leads Carlos Sainz of Spain driving (55) the Ferrari SF-24 and Lando Norris of Great Britain driving the (4) McLaren MCL38 Mercedes into turn 1 at the start during the F1 Grand Prix of Mexico at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez

Peter Fox – Formula 1 | Formula 1 | Getty Images

Apple and Formula 1 announced a five-year media rights deal Friday that will bring every F1 race to Apple TV beginning in 2026.

Apple TV will provide coverage of all Formula 1 events, including practice, qualifying and Sprint sessions, as part of the streamer’s existing $12.99 per month subscription, which comes ad-free. Certain F1 races and all practice sessions will also be available for free in the Apple TV app throughout the season, the companies said in a statement.

It’s a different structure from Apple’s partnership with Major League Soccer. Apple TV similarly has exclusive rights to every MLS game, but at an extra cost through the MLS Season Pass.

Apple is paying about $140 million per year for the racing rights, according to people familiar with the matter. Disney’s ESPN is the incumbent media partner for the league and had been paying about $85 million per year on average, according to people familiar with that deal, who asked not to speak publicly because the details are private.

Representatives for ESPN said in a statement the network is “incredibly proud of what we and Formula 1 accomplished together in the United States and look forward to a strong finish in this final season. We wish F1 well in the future.”

F1 TV Premium, the league’s own content offering that’s popular with racing fans, will continue to be available in the U.S. but will now require an Apple TV subscription. Once a customer subscribes to Apple TV, F1 TV Premium will be included in their Apple subscription rather than as a standalone offering.

F1 on Apple TV will feature commentary from F1 TV and Sky broadcast announcers.

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Apple is dipping its toe into live sports but only in instances where it can acquire rights such that it can control the user experience, Senior Vice President of Services Eddy Cue told CNBC this week. Apple plans to announced additional production details and product enhancements for F1 fans in the coming months, the company said in a statement.

“We don’t have to do sports the way that they are,” Cue said at Motorsport Network’s Autosport Business Exchange NYC. “There’s plenty of people doing that, so the world doesn’t need us to do that. And so our view around it is, if we can do something unique, then we’ll do it.”

The deal builds on Apple’s relationship with F1 following “F1: The Movie,” starring Brad Pitt, which became the highest-grossing sports movie of all time at the box office this year, according to Cue.

“This is an incredibly exciting partnership for Apple and the whole of Formula 1 that will ensure we can continue to maximize our growth potential in the U.S.,” said Stefano Domenicali, Formula 1’s president and CEO, in a statement.

Disclosure: CNBC is a sponsor of the McLaren Formula 1 racing team.

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Crypto PAC Fairshake targets close House races as election nears end

admin — Mon, 21 Oct 2024 02:59:04 +0000

“Make Bitcoin Great Again” hats displayed for sale at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee, US, on Saturday, July 27, 2024. Former US President Trump used to be a crypto critic but in recent weeks adopted a much friendlier stance alongside the sector’s emergence as an influential player in the 2024 presidential election through big donations to a political action committee.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

With the 2024 election hitting its homestretch, the leading pro-crypto super PAC has funneled a big chunk of its final donations to close House races as part of an effort to push candidates favorable to the group’s agenda over the top.

Fairshake, which has been one of the top spenders across any industry this election cycle, doled out nearly $29 million in September, according to Federal Election commission data released to the public on Sunday. Of that sum, $20 million went to two affiliated PACs — $15 million to the Defend American Jobs PAC, a single-issue committee focused on cryptocurrency and blockchain policy that’s favored Republicans, and $5 million to Protect Progress, which has only supported Democrats.

The remaining $8.8 million spent by Fairshake last month mostly went to House races in New York, Nevada and California, according to FEC data compiled by crypto market and blockchain analyst James Delmore and verified by CNBC.

Several of those races are considered toss-ups by the Cook Political Report. Among the recipients were Southern California Republicans David G. Valadao and Michael Garcia, who are both in tights contests to keep their seats. They’ve received $1.3 million and $1 million, respectively.

“The Fairshake donations to the California candidates in toss-up districts are important not only to get pro-crypto candidates elected in House seats that could go either way, but also because a lot of crypto companies are still located in California,” Delmore said. “California needs all of the pro-crypto politicians they can get.”

Additionally, Fairshake gave more than $1.9 million to Rep. Patrick Ryan (D-NY), over $1.7 million to Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) and almost $1 million to Rep. Angela Dawn Craig (D-Minn.). The remaining cash went to a mix of candidates in Illinois, Colorado, Oregon, Iowa and Arkansas.

Of the House donations, $6.2 million went to Democratic candidates and $2.3 million to Republicans. In the September window, Protect Progress gave more than $10 million apiece to Democrats running for Senate in Arizona and Michigan.

For the 2024 cycle, political donations from or supporting the crypto industry reached around $190 million, with contributions coming from some of the biggest names in the sector. A report from Public Citizen in August found that crypto companies have accounted for nearly half of all donations made by corporations this election cycle.

Crypto groups have spent over $130 million in congressional races for this year’s election, including the primaries, according to FEC data.

Delmore told CNBC that donations to Fairshake have been tepid the last few months.

In September, the group added around $1.1 million, with $800,000 coming from crypto firm Consensys, which was sued by the SEC in June, and $1,000 from Moonsong Labs CEO Derek Yoo.

In total, Fairshake has raised more than $160 million and disbursed over $37 million to support House candidates and to run ads opposing Democrat Katie Porter, who lost in the California Senate primary. More than $84 million was transferred to Fairshake’s affiliate PACs.

WATCH: Crypto PAC money backs Utah Senate candidate and others across U.S.

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