{"id":102055,"date":"2026-01-16T07:04:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T07:04:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/102055\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T07:04:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T07:04:15","slug":"amazon-launches-legal-battle-against-bankrupt-saks-global-over-wasted-investment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/102055\/","title":{"rendered":"Amazon launches legal battle against bankrupt Saks Global over ‘wasted’ investment"},"content":{"rendered":"

A major legal battle is underway between Amazon and Saks Global, with the e-commerce giant vowing to use \u201call available legal remedies\u201d to recover $475 million it claims it is owed in the luxury retailer\u2019s recently filed bankruptcy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a Wednesday hearing in US Bankruptcy Court in Houston, Amazon said it was burned by a soured web partnership with the swanky retailer \u2014 and objected to Saks Global\u2019s proposal for a $1.75 billion debtor-in-possession, or DIP, loan to keep its operations going during a Chapter 11 proceeding.<\/p>\n

Amazon accused Saks of \u201cborrowing from Peter to pay Paul\u201d by prioritizing other creditors\u2019 claims over its own, saying Saks\u2019 plan to reemerge from bankruptcy<\/a> should be halted.<\/p>\n

The Saks Fifth Avenue flagship is at the center of dispute between Saks Global and Amazon.com. Christopher Sadowski<\/p>\n

Amazon argued that the \u201cimmediate liquidation\u201d of the company\u2019s New York City flagship store on Fifth Avenue would be \u201cmore beneficial\u201d to Saks Global creditors than the Seattle-based retailer .<\/p>\n

Real estate mogul and former Saks Global chief executive, Richard Baker, recently invested $300 million to refurbish the flagship, adding a Rem Koolhaas-designed escalator connecting the ground and second floors. Baker stepped down as CEO on Tuesday, a day before Saks filed for bankruptcy.<\/p>\n

That day, a Texas judge rejected Amazon\u2019s argument as he released $400 million in restructuring funds to Saks Global.<\/p>\n

Still, experts say the dispute could have legs \u2014 with the iconic luxury retailer\u2019s future hanging in the balance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe battle royale between Saks and Amazon has only begun, with Amazon\u2019s objection to the interim DIP financing the opening salvo,\u201d David Wander, a partner in the bankruptcy group at Tarter Krinsky & Drogin told The Post.\u00a0\u201cAmazon\u2019s objection raises real concerns for the present DIP financing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Saks Global declined to comment. Amazon declined to comment on the court\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n

Griping that Saks Global\u2019s bankruptcy plan rendered its near half-billion-dollar stake in the company \u201cworthless,\u201d Amazon vowed to pursue claims of \u201cmanagement\u2019s misconduct,\u201d according to a Jan. 9 letter from Amazon\u2019s legal counsel, Latham & Watkins, to Saks Global.<\/p>\n

In 2024, Amazon took a 23% stake in the entity formed by Saks that acquired Neiman Marcus, taking on a major role in backing the $2.7 billion merger.<\/a>\u00a0In return, Saks Global agreed to sell high-end fashion on Amazon.com and pay the e-commerce giant at least $900 million in fees for Saks-branded goods sold on the platform over the next eight years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Real estate mogul, Richard Baker, stepped down as CEO of Saks Global this week. Joe Schildhorn\/BFA.com \/ Shutterstock<\/p>\n

The deal was secured by Saks Global\u2019s prized Fifth Avenue real estate, according to Amazon\u2019s filing. But the merged department stores struggled financially, falling behind on their vendor payments.<\/p>\n

In August, Saks Global raised another $600 million in new funding from its existing bondholders, backstopping the investment with the flagship real estate. At the time, Amazon objected to the deal on the grounds that the funding diluted its investment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The companies agreed to a \u201csettlement\u201d in which Amazon was given a \u201cguarantee\u201d for up to $475 million secured by the real estate.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cSaks cannot use the assets and value of [the] flagship \u2026 to fund other Saks entities for the benefit of those other entities\u2019 creditors,\u201d the Jan. 9 letter stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven Saks\u2019 past financial and operational performance and present uncertainties, a liquidation of [the] flagship may very well be in the best interests of the creditors of the flagship,\u201d the missive added.<\/p>\n

Despite the court ruling allowing some of the DIP funds to be released this week, the fight is far from over, legal experts said.<\/p>\n

The fashion industry wants Saks Global to succeed, say experts. Christopher Sadowski<\/p>\n

\u201cAmazon could take this to the district court to appeal the judge\u2019s decision,\u201d Joseph Sarachek, an attorney representing some 30 vendors who are owed money by Saks Global told The Post. \u201cA final decision on the financing hasn\u2019t happened. They could really fight this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saks Global made a shrewd move to file for bankruptcy protection in Texas because \u201cat the end of the day, debtors get whatever they want in Texas,\u201d Sarachek added.<\/p>\n

Despite Amazon\u2019s suggestion that selling the Saks Fifth Avenue flagship would be the best outcome for Saks\u2019 creditors, most fashion companies would disagree, according to industry experts.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone wants Saks to succeed \u2014 even people who have not been paid and were jerked around,\u201d said Wander, the bankruptcy attorney. \u201cThe industry is very invested in these retail brands.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A major legal battle is underway between Amazon and Saks Global, with the e-commerce giant vowing to use…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":102056,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[586,384,288,2364,1023,33512,9,11,10,9104,21489],"class_list":{"0":"post-102055","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-amazon","9":"tag-bankruptcy","10":"tag-business","11":"tag-luxury","12":"tag-luxury-real-estate","13":"tag-neiman-marcus","14":"tag-new-york","15":"tag-new-york-headlines","16":"tag-new-york-news","17":"tag-retailers","18":"tag-saks-fifth-avenue"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102055"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102055\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}