What’s next for Sears?
Department store chain Sears might be getting a reprieve from liquidation after its CEO, Eddie Lampert, submitted a $4.4 billion bid in an effort to buy the retailer and keep it alive.
According to CNBC, the department store operator told employees in December that it plans to shut another round of Kmart and Sears stores next year, in addition to those that are already in the process of going dark. When Sears filed for bankruptcy on Oct. 15, it was still operating a little under 700 stores. At that time, the company said it would close 142 unprofitable stores. In November, it announced the closure of 40 additional stores.
Sears told workers that it expects to begin liquidation sales at the 80 stores in two weeks. The accompanying Sears Auto Centers will also be shut.
Related: Why I will miss Sears and Kmart
Lampert’s offer to buy Sears, which was submitted through an ESL affiliate, Transform Holdco, is for 425 of Sears’ stores. To fund the bid, it has a $1.3 billion financing commitment from investment banks, a spokesperson for ESL said in a statement, according to CNBC.
The bid would “offer employment to up to 50,000 associates,” the spokesperson for ESL said, cautioning, though, that it would depend on “further actions the company may take between now and closing.” It would also reinstate severance protections for “eligible employees.”
The bid may help divert liquidation, but may not necessarily, according to CNBC. Sears’ advisors have until Jan. 4 to decide whether ESL is a “qualified bidder.” Only then could ESL take part in a court auction against liquidation bids on Jan. 14. They will weigh the value of Lampert’s bid against offers to liquidate the company.
Since filing for bankruptcy, the retailer has announced plans to close more than 260 of its 700 or so stores, or more than a third of its locations.
To read the full CNBC article, click here.