Sycamore’s Belk Taps Kirkland, Lazard for Restructuring Talks
Sycamore’s Belk Taps Kirkland, Lazard for Restructuring Talks
(Bloomberg) -- Belk Inc., the department store chain owned by Sycamore Partners, is talking with creditors about easing its almost $2.4 billion debt load and has tapped law firm Kirkland & Ellis and investment bank Lazard Ltd. for advice.
Belk and its advisers are huddling with holders of the retailer’s debt -- which includes first-lien and second-lien securities -- according to people with knowledge of the matter. Options could include a debt-for-equity exchange and new financing, according to the people, who asked not to be named discussing private negotiations.
Discussions are in the early stages and plans could change, according to the people.
Representatives for Belk, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and New York-based Sycamore declined to comment. Kirkland and Lazard didn’t respond to requests for comment. Reorg Research reported earlier this month that lenders were discussing a plan that could involve issuing new debt with new payment-in-kind debt, and swapping debt for equity.
Retail Woes
Belk raised alarms among suppliers in late 2020 by delaying vendor payments for months amid pandemic shutdowns, Bloomberg reported. A term loan of more than $900 million issued in 2019 now trades for around 39 cents on the dollar.
Sycamore is known for buying struggling brands and turning them around, with a roster that includes Staples, The Limited and Torrid. The private equity firm bought Belk in 2015 and installed Lisa Harper -- who previously led Sycamore’s Hot Topic -- as chief executive officer in July 2016. More recently, Sycamore bought Ann Taylor and three other brands after their former parent, Ascena Retail Group Inc., went bankrupt last year.
Reviving a department store chain could be a bigger task. Even before the pandemic, the sector was suffering from a years-long decline as shoppers shifted to more specialized or novel merchants. Last year saw two of the biggest, J.C. Penney Co. and Neiman Marcus Group Inc., go bankrupt. Both survived the process after shedding some of their debts.
Belk does have some advantages, according to Moody’s Investors Service, including loyal customers and about half of its stores located apart from indoor shopping malls, which have suffered most acutely from the decline in foot traffic.
William Henry Belk opened his first store, called The New York Racket, in 1888. The mid-priced chain bought up other department store chains along the way to growing to almost 300 locations in 16 states, mostly in the South.
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