Oaktree Seeks $1.5 Billion in Cash to Top Bid for Claire's

  • Lawyer cites ‘extreme pressure’ to make Aug. 31 deadline
  • Offer would compete with Elliott-led takeover proposal

Pedestrians pass a Claire's Accessories store, operated by Claire's Stores Inc., on Oxford Street in London.

Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Claire’s Stores Inc. debtholder Oaktree Capital Management is working to raise $1.5 billion for a bid due Aug. 31 for the bankrupt retailer, a lawyer for the distressed-debt investment firm told a judge Friday.

“We are under extreme pressure raising $1.5 billion in cash,” Tom Lauria, a lawyer at White & Case, said in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware.