Oaktree Capital Management LP said it has made a better offer for bankrupt Claire’s Stores Inc. than one on the table but acknowledged that financing isn’t finalized, a fact seized upon by the current lead bidder for the teen retailer, WSJPro reported. Oaktree, an unhappy bondholder in Claire’s bankruptcy, also is seeking court approval to sue the retailer and backer Apollo Management Holdings LP, alleging that intellectual property was fraudulently transferred to new entities not part of the chapter 11 proceedings, according to a filing Thursday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. Claire’s filed for bankruptcy in March. Since then, Oaktree, which holds $159 million in secured second-lien notes in the Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based company, has said the teen accessories chain continues to favor senior bondholders and investment firm Apollo, which owns equity in the teen accessories merchant as well as some of its debt, at the expense of other parties. Claire’s and several related companies filed for bankruptcy with a plan to hand the equity in the reorganized company to first-lien bondholders when it exits bankruptcy. Oaktree has said that Claire’s hasn’t done enough to market its assets, which would help creditors recover more of what they are owed. In a win for Oaktree last month, Judge Mary Walrath in the Delaware court ordered Claire’s to open up the sale of the company to all bidders, setting an Aug. 31 deadline.
