Iconic US retailer Sears saved from the brink — for now
Billionaire hedge fund manager and chair Edward Lampert reportedly wins after boosting a bid to $5.3bn
Washington —Historic but failing US retail chain Sears got a reprieve on Wednesday after a billionaire hedge fund manager won an auction to keep the remaining stores alive — for now, according to reports. Edward Lampert, who steered the company into bankruptcy last year in order to restructure it, won the bid to buy the remaining assets, beating out others who would have killed off the brand, according to news reports. The deal with Lampert’s ESL hedge fund could keep up to 50,000 people in work and 425 stores open, but requires approval from a bankruptcy court. Lampert, who stepped down as CEO but remains Sears’ chairman, reportedly won out after he boosted his bid to $5.3bn from $4.4bn following several weeks of negotiations. Lampert had taken the company into bankruptcy in October, saying that would give the company the “flexibility to strengthen its balance sheet” and enable it to accelerate a strategic transformation.
Sears said it intended to reorganize around a smaller ...
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