Saks offers up to $100 million of shares

Stephen Sadove, Chief Executive Officer of Saks Incorporated, speaks at the Reuters Global Luxury Summit in New York June 9, 2009.

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Saks Inc (SKS.N) is offering up to $100 million in shares of its common stock, the upscale store operator said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday, and its shares fell 4.6 percent in after-hours trade.

The company, which sells designer brands, said it would use proceeds from the offering to pay down debt and for general corporate purposes.

The last reported sale price of its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange on September 28 was $7.04 per share, Saks said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Saks, with 53 Saks Fifth Avenue stores and 54 OFF 5th stores, has been cutting costs and inventory to offset a significant drop in demand for luxury goods. Its move comes as it nears the critical holiday shopping season -- when it usually derives a significant portion of sales.

Its shares fell to $6.84 in after-hours trading, after closing up 13 cents at $7.17 on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Aarthi Sivaraman in Seattle; Editing by Gary Hill)