Fossil shares tumble after $497M refinance announcement

Struggling watchmaker Fossil Group has bought itself more time — but at a hefty price.

The company said Wednesday it was able to refinance $497 million in debt — but at interest rates well above existing levels.

The added financial burden drove down shares of the Richardson, Texas, company 13.3 percent, to $7.96, on Wednesday.

It is the second such refinancing at higher rates within 12 months.

Sales of the struggling accessories firm, which makes timepieces for Michael Kors, Karl Lagerfeld, Marc Jacobs, DKNY and more than a dozen others, have been moving in the wrong direction for at least a year, falling 10 percent in the nine months ended Sept. 30.

“It is difficult to have any confidence in a turnaround [with] sales and margins declining significantly,” Wells Fargo analyst Ike Boruchow wrote in a research note.

Last month Fossil shuttered its Fifth Avenue store in the Big Apple; it has four remaining.

Also in January, there were reports that private equity firm Thoma Bravo was considering a bid to acquire Fossil for about $15.75 per share.

But the refinancing is likely a sign that “there is no imminent relief from its debt burden with a potential strategic partner,” Macquarie Capital analyst Laurent Vasilescu said in a research note.

Fossil’s problems stem, in part, from a broader trend away from traditional watches. Fossil bet big two years ago on smartwatches, but analysts says that Fossil’s competition with Apple watches isn’t going well.

It tried offering discounts of up to 50 percent over the holidays, Vasilescu said.