Belk’s Loan Jumps on Report of Potential Merger With J.C. Penney

Debt tied to Sycamore Partners ’s department store Belk Inc. rallied on Tuesday following reports of the private equity firm looking at a potential merger with bankrupt J.C. Penney.

• Department store chain’s term loan due 2025 rose 12.25 cents on the dollar to ~50 cents, according to trading data compiled by Bloomberg
  • Loan was quoted between 37 and 39 cents before the report, according to people familiar with the pricing
• NOTE: Sycamore’s plan would involve re-branding J.C. Penney stores to Belk stores in markets where the two retailers don’t overlap; the rest of the J.C. Penney locations would be liquidated, ...