
Inside the rocky, on-and-off merger talks between Saks and Amazon — before and after the luxury giant’s bankruptcy: ‘Basically dumped’
NY Post
Amazon has been signaling that it wants a piece of the Saks empire — including possibly buying it outright — even as its prospects to break into the luxury market have been complicated by its controversial role in the retailer’s bankruptcy, The Post has learned.
About three months before the owner of Saks and Neiman Marcus filed for Chapter 11 in January, Amazon tapped the investment bank Lazard to explore acquiring Saks Global or to take a bigger stake in the debt-ridden chain, according to sources with knowledge of the negotiations.
“They spent a lot of time, money and energy working on the deal and there was a strong belief that Amazon would purchase the company — right up until Christmas,” a source told The Post.
Amazon — which replaced Lazard with Evercore during several weeks of rough-and-tumble talks — eventually decided against an acquisition, in part over concerns about the company’s brick-and-mortar stores, this source said.
“They weren’t sure they could run them,” the source said of Amazon, although the web giant believed it “could deal with Saks Global’s debt.”
Shortly after the discussions ended, Saks Global began preparations for bankruptcy.

After nearly 50 years in Orange County, Yamaha Motor Corp. USA is packing up its headquarters — trading Cypress, California for Kennesaw, Georgia in a sweeping corporate shift that will impact about 250 workers.The motorcycle and motorsports giant says the move is part of major “structural reforms” meant to boost profits as costs climb — including pressure from tariffs imposed during the administration of President Donald Trump and shifting market conditions.












