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Neiman Marcus Faces Renewed Marble Ridge Push to Block Exchange

Neiman Marcus Faces Renewed Marble Ridge Push to Block Exchange

(Bloomberg) -- Neiman Marcus creditor Marble Ridge Capital LP renewed its attack on the retailer’s pending debt exchange, telling the bond trustee that the deal violates terms of the company’s existing notes.

Marble Ridge objects to a demand that debtholders relinquish claims to the company’s MyTheresa e-commerce asset, according to a letter sent to the trustee, U.S. Bank, and reviewed by Bloomberg.

By facilitating the debt exchange, the trustee “would be giving its imprimatur to improper acts, as alleged, and purporting to abrogate claims held by both individual noteholders and any future Neiman Marcus bankruptcy estate,” according to the May 15 letter from the Brown Rudnick law firm.

Representatives for Dallas-based Neiman Marcus didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Marble Ridge previously brought a related lawsuit in state court that was dismissed.

Neiman Marcus is seeking to transfer control of the fast-growing MyTheresa business to its private equity owners, Ares Management LP and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. The retailer launched its debt exchange offer at the end of April, aiming to push out the maturities of its term loan and bonds and gain time for the struggling retailer to turn itself around.

As part of the agreement, Neiman would swap its current borrowings with creditors, giving them new obligations and a partial claim on MyTheresa’s equity.

Not everyone is on board with the deal. Neiman says about 91.5% of its notes were validly tendered as of Wednesday, unchanged from the start of the week. The company has repeatedly extended the early tender date to allow more holders to take advantage of the financial benefits that come with getting in before the final deadline on May 24.

The company also cut the minimum threshold needed to consummate the exchange from 95% to 91%, according to a statement Thursday.

To contact the reporters on this story: Eliza Ronalds-Hannon in New York at eronaldshann@bloomberg.net;Katherine Doherty in New York at kdoherty23@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Rick Green at rgreen18@bloomberg.net, Dawn McCarty

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