Sears chairman prevails in bankruptcy auction for retailer with $5.2 billion bid: sources

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sears Holdings Corp (SHLDQ.PK) Chairman Eddie Lampert prevailed in a bankruptcy auction for the U.S. department store chain with an improved takeover bid of roughly $5.2 billion, allowing the 126-year-old retailer to keep its doors open, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

Lampert’s bid, boosted from an earlier $5 billion offer, prevailed after weeks of back-and-forth deliberations that culminated in a days-long bankruptcy auction held behind closed doors. The billionaire proposal, made through his hedge fund ESL Investments Inc, will save up to 45,000 jobs and keep 425 stores open across the United States.

Lampert boosted his bid by adding more cash and assuming more liabilities, the sources said. The auction, held at the Manhattan offices of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, the law firm representing Sears, concluded in the early morning hours of Wednesday.

There remains a chance the deal could fall apart, as it still must be documented and approved by a U.S. bankruptcy judge. A hearing is expected to be scheduled for later this week.

-snip-

BUSINESS NEWS JANUARY 16, 2019 / 3:37 AM / UPDATED 27 MINUTES AGO
Mike Spector, Jessica DiNapoli
2 MIN READ


Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sears-bankruptcy-lampert/sears-chairman-prevails-in-bankruptcy-auction-for-retailer-with-5-2-billion-bid-sources-idUSKCN1PA0SW

[durablend]

1. Nothing more than dragging the inevitable out a little longer...

Last edited Wed Jan 16, 2019, 05:59 AM - Edit history (1)

And lest you think this is about "saving jobs" (which I know you don't), he's just about keeping watchful eyes from looking into his deals with Seritage and others. Lampert is likely just as much of a crook at Trump is.

[mountain grammy]

4. He may even be worse

But that’s a real reach.

[videohead5]

2. If they had went and gotten

The former CEO of Costco he could have turned it around. He maybe too old now but he could still consult.

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

3. Don't forget about the real estate invovled here...

...eom.

[Cheviteau]

5. Correct

The real-estate alone is worth at least 10.4 million. If I were a billionaire, he would have paid more than a meager 5.2 million. Behind closed doors? Yeah, he got a deal.

[durablend]

6. *Billion*

And keep in mind Sears (and Seritage) only own a portion of that 425 store count. The rest of it are leases.

[Cheviteau]

8. Thanks

Thanks for the correction. I may be behind times...but didn't K-Mart purchase Sears several years ago? Maybe K-Mart's real-estate holdings are not tied up with Sears, but K-Mart owns a shitload of real property in downtown large cities. All of that came from the old Woolworth stores, I believe. I followed this back in the seventies when I owned a few shares in Sears and K-Mart.

[durablend]

9. asdf

Kmart bought Sears, but named the company "Sears Holdings" which confuses everyone.

Kmart right now is down to 201 stores (which would means Sears is down to 224 if the "425" number is correct). You might be thinking of Grants which they picked up a few hundred stores off of back in day when *they* went under (the majority of which are now closed).

[cstanleytech]

13. Aye there are not more Kmarts in my area now the last one closed 2 or 3 years ago but its not

because of Walmart but rather its because they wanted to milk the stores for all they could and decided not to invest money into keeping them up to date not to mention they wanted to run the stores with a skeleton crew.

[Javaman]

7. Insiders Say Amazon Could Soon Turn Sears Stores Into Whole Foods Locations

https://www.cookinglight.com/news/whole-foods-amazon-sears-stores

After more than 120 years in business, Sears is facing possible liquidation as early as next week—and even if the former retail giant is able to save current stores, there have already been hundreds of closings across the nation since 2016. While Sears isn't the only retailer having trouble keep business strong, the opposite is true for Whole Foods Market, which has experienced growth since being acquired by Amazon in 2017.

According to industry insiders who spoke with Yahoo! Finance, Amazon is interested in opening new Whole Foods stores and expanding the chain. Currently, Whole Foods operates just under 475 stores across the country, but reports claim that the grocer is interested in opening new stores in states that were once out of reach.

With Sears on the verge of collapse (here's what to do if you own Sears kitchen appliances), Amazon executives may consider converting closed locations into Whole Foods Markets, as Sears locations are typically housed in locations with plenty of foot traffic. Yahoo! reports there are already over 123 Sears locations, as well as 205 Kmart stores, that have closed in the last two years for Amazon to consider.

Just last month, Yahoo reports that Whole Foods' executives visited an old Kmart store location in Utah that shut down in the summer of 2017. And Jim Sud, the executive vice president of growth and business development at Whole Foods, recently said the chain was seriously considering converting old stores during an event in Dallas this month.

more at link...

[wishstar]

14. A new Whole Foods is doing well in old location of closed Kmart in my city

I was surprised how full the parking lot was when it became Whole Foods compared to when the decaying outmoded Kmart was there.

[Polybius]

10. Just end it already

Going into my local Sears the employees look at me like "what are you doing here?" There's never any customers. The only reason I go in is to pass through to get to the mall.

[Xolodno]

11. I wonder what his end-game is....

He's already spun off the brands that kept Sears going, his "management" has run the company to the ground and his hedge fund has already raided what it could.

I'm going to hazard a guess that he has already secured another deal if he keeps the company alive.

[Liberty Belle]

12. JC Penney is now selling major appliances, filling one void left by the Sears here that closed.