Welcome to WSJ Pro Bankruptcy's Daily Briefing. It's Monday, February 23. In today's briefing, Onset Financial has countersued First Brands, alleging the auto-parts supplier and its executives falsified financial statements and invoices to secure financing before bankruptcy. 

Equipment financing firm Onset Financial has countersued First Brands, alleging it was misled into extending financing to the auto-parts supplier before its bankruptcy.

First Brands and its executives misrepresented the company’s financial situation, including faking statements and invoices to keep Onset providing short-term financing, Onset said in Thursday court filings. First Brands owes it $2.16 billion from past dealings, Onset said.

In a lawsuit filed against Onset last month, First Brands alleged the Utah-based firm conspired with former First Brands executive Edward James to rig loan deals to the company, driving outsize returns for Onset and kickbacks for James.

Saks Global received final court approval for roughly $1 billion in new financing after resolving objections from vendors who expressed worries about getting paid.

Amazon, Cicada Jewelry and Dolce & Gabbana were among creditors that objected to the loan. But the luxury department store chain struck deals shortly before the Friday hearing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston. Roughly $600 million of the $1 billion will cover certain vendor claims, of which $330 million will be distributed in coming weeks.

Many vendors worried that the financing would allow lenders to get liens on consigned goods. The final approval provides that the vendors have rights to goods that are in Saks’ possession during the bankruptcy, which was filed last month.

“The company has spent that time working around the clock to rebuild its relationship with vendors,” Saks lawyer Debra Sinclair said. As of Friday, Saks has executed or is on the verge of executing trade agreements with more than 100 brands, she said. 

–Becky Yerak

Boaz Weinstein’s investment firm Saba Capital and Cox Capital are preparing a tender offer for stakes in three semiliquid private-credit funds operated by Blue Owl Capital.

The shot across Blue Owl’s bow pits Weinstein—one of Wall Street’s better known hedge-fund managers who helped take down JPMorgan’s “London Whale”—against two rising stars in the booming private-credit market, Blue Owl co-Chief Executive Officers Doug Ostrover and Marc Lipschultz.

Saba and Cox announced Friday plans for a buyout offer to shareholders at prices between 65% and 80% of net asset value, an apparent effort to capitalize on rising angst about funds Blue Owl and other private fund managers marketed to individual investors.

Boutique investment bank Centerview Partners agreed to settle a lawsuit with a former analyst shortly before trial, resolving a case that was set to interrogate the responsibilities of one of the most grueling jobs in finance.

The terms of the settlement couldn’t immediately be learned.

Plaintiff Kathryn Shiber alleged in the lawsuit, which she initially filed in 2021, that Centerview illegally fired her because of a disability. Centerview had previously moved to dismiss the case, arguing in court filings that there was no reasonable accommodation that would have allowed Shiber to perform the essential parts of the role.

Share your tips, suggestions and feedback with the WSJ Pro Bankruptcy team: Alexander Gladstone; Jodi Xu Klein; Akiko Matsuda; Alicia McElhaney; Andrew Scurria; Becky Yerak. 

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