- Sears Chairman Eddie Lampert has another chance to save the company from total liquidation.
- Lampert's $4.4 billion takeover bid will be assessed against competing parties' bids at an auction scheduled for January 14, a judge said during a hearing in New York on Tuesday.
Sears Chairman Eddie Lampert has one last chance to save the company from a total liquidation.
Lampert's $4.4 billion takeover bid will be assessed against competing parties' bids at an auction scheduled for January 14, a US bankruptcy judge said in court on Tuesday.
"The auction … will involve the debtors and their key consulting parties evaluating not only ESL's [proposal] but all their alternatives," Judge Robert Drain said. ESL is reference to Lampert's hedge fund, ESL Investments.
Drain referenced the size of Sears and the fact that the company "affects a lot of people," and said ESL's proposal may enable Sears to "survive as a going concern." Sears had 687 stores and 68,000 employees when it filed for bankruptcy in mid October.
Sears appeared prepared to pursue a liquidation on Tuesday after rejecting Lampert's bid, which was submitted last month through an affiliate of his hedge fund.
But last-minute negotiations that twice delayed Tuesday's hearing by several hours led to the deal that gave Lampert another opportunity to compete for Sears' assets.
For his bid to stay alive, Lampert must provide the company with a $120 million deposit by Wednesday.
Lampert's bid would keep about 425 stores open, and save the jobs of about 50,000 workers, according to ESL.
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See Also:
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- Sears will reportedly pursue liquidation
SEE ALSO: Inside Sears' death spiral: How an iconic American brand has been driven to the edge of bankruptcy
