The department store conglomerate wants to reorganize its debt and operations in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which it could file “imminently”, the people said.

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The financing would provide an immediate cash infusion of $1 billion through a debtor-in-possession loan from an investor group led by Pentwater Capital Management in Naples, Florida, and Boston-based Bracebridge Capital, the people said.

The company’s banks would also provide an additional $250 million in financing through an asset-backed loan, the people said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private.

A DIP loan helps companies pay salaries, vendors and other ongoing expenses while a company goes through Chapter 11 bankruptcy, allowing it to continue operating while reorganizing its business. DIP financing gives investors priority repayment if the company isn’t successful and has to liquidate, so a bankruptcy judge will have to sign off on it.

Saks Global, which controls stores and brands that have helped shape America’s taste for high fashion over the last century, would have access to another $500 million of financing from the investor group once it successfully exits bankruptcy protection, the sources added.

The negotiations are still fluid and the exact terms of the lending package could change, they cautioned. The financing plan would also need approval from a bankruptcy judge before it is finalized. The filing could come as soon as Tuesday, the people said.

The DIP finance package would allow Saks Global to repay its vendors and restock depleted inventory, one of the people said, while a Chapter 11 reorganization allows it to continue operating as it restructures its finances and renegotiates lease agreements and other contracts.

The so-called DIP loan could eventually be converted into equity or another type of asset, instead of repaid, if Saks successfully emerges from bankruptcy, one of the people said.

PJT Partners, which is advising Saks on its restructuring, declined to comment. Saks did not immediately return a request for comment.

A LUXURY DREAM THAT FAILED

While the marriage gave the newly formed luxury conglomerate more leverage to negotiate discounts with vendors, it also left it saddled with debt. Saks Global took on about $2.2 billion in fresh debt as part of the deal, targeting $600 million in annual cost savings, according to media reports citing the company’s investor call in October.

But demand for luxury goods didn’t rebound as hoped for in 2025 and the servicing costs on that debt significantly ate into its cash flow, making it late in paying vendors and investors, according to interviews with former vendors, investors and analysts. Saks Global had to tap investors for another $600 million in June and missed a crucial bond payment last month.

Some of Saks’ bonds are trading at as little as a penny on the dollar. Its first lien bonds, which have the most protection in bankruptcy, are trading at 25 cents to 30 cents, one bond investor told Reuters.

The new cash injection should give Saks enough breathing room, and liquidity, to eventually recover, one investor said.

It wasn’t clear whether the restructuring plan will include additional changes to the company’s management team or its storied real estate holdings, which include its flagship Saks Fifth Avenue store in New York City. The company abruptly replaced its chief executive – veteran retail executive Marc Metrick – earlier this month, elevating Baker to CEO.

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Stephen Murphy ’87, who has worked in the Yale administration since 2001 and as the University’s chief financial officer and vice president for finance since 2015, will retire from his position in June.

Leo Nyberg & Isobel McClure

1:47 am, Jan 13, 2026

Staff Reporters

Yale News

Stephen Murphy ’87, the University’s chief financial officer and vice president for finance who has held the post for more than 10 years, will retire in June, University President Maurie McInnis and Senior Vice President for Operations Geoff Chatas announced in a statement on Monday. 

Murphy’s impending retirement comes amid administrators’ efforts to tighten budgets across the University — which could include shrinking the University’s workforce through layoffs — as Yale braces for the tax on its endowment investment income to increase from 1.4 to 8 percent in July.  

“It’s been an honor and a privilege to work alongside so many thoughtful, talented, kind, and principled people who are trying each day to make the world a better place through research, teaching, preservation, and practice,” Murphy wrote in an email to the News. “I have loved my time serving as CFO for Yale University. It’s the best job at Yale and the best job in higher education, at least for me.” 

Murphy graduated from Yale College in 1987 with a bachelor’s degree in economics. He noted that as a student unable to afford college without financial aid, he was “grateful to have had the opportunity to work toward making undergraduate and graduate education more affordable to more families” later in his career as Yale’s chief financial officer. 

In their statement, McInnis and Chatas praised Murphy for his role implementing reforms which they said “lay much of the foundation” for Yale’s financial management. 

“During his tenure at Yale, Steve has provided both steady and dynamic leadership of the university’s finances. He has worked with multiple generations of administrators to advance our academic mission through financial strategy, insight, services, and advice,” the university leaders’ joint statement said. 

“With tremendous care, Steve has helped steer the university through many challenging moments and provided important guidance to me in my role as provost,” Provost Scott Strobel wrote in an email to the News, noting that Murphy’s work “will benefit students, faculty, and staff for years after his retirement.” 

Murphy began working at Yale in 2001 as the Yale Office of Cooperative Research’s director of finance and administration, according to his profile on a University webpage.