Saks shares up on fresh reports of Baugur interest

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares in upscale retailer Saks Inc (SKS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) rose nearly 7 percent on Thursday on reports that Icelandic investor Baugur Group is still looking to buy the U.S. company.

A Bloomberg report quoted Baugur Chairman Jon Asgeir Johannesson as saying that he is still "actively" interested in Saks and that he has cash to bid for it.

A Saks spokeswoman declined to comment on the matter. Baugur officials could not immediately be reached.

"Speculators are buying the September, October and November $12.50 (Saks) calls as they anticipate a premium of at least 30 percent above the current stock price if a takeover occurs," said William Lefkowitz, an options strategist at brokerage firm vFinance Investments.

Baugur, which owns Britain's House of Fraser department stores, has been interested in Saks for a while.

Last year, Baugur said in a regulatory filing that it intended to hold discussions with Saks' board regarding a possible acquisition. But in April, the company said it was content with its roughly 8 percent stake in Saks and would not pursue a takeover.

Saks reported a wider quarterly loss earlier this week, and forecast weak sales through the end of the year, as even its well-heeled shoppers have curbed spending.

The company saw its shares touch a year-low value of $9.15 in mid-July, down nearly 60 percent from a 12-month high of $22.78 in November last year.

Saks' shares were up 68 cents or 6.9 percent at $10.60, after rising as high as $10.96, a 10.5 percent increase, earlier on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Aarthi Sivaraman in New York, with additional reporting by Doris Frankel in Chicago, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)