Sears Chairman Ups Bid on Struggling Retailer to Save it From Liquidation

According to a Reuters report, Eddie Lampert, the former CEO and current chairman of Sears, has revised a bid of around $5 billion in order to save the battered retailer from having to liquidate.

His previous bid, with his hedge fund ESL Investments, was for $4.4 billion and had been rejected by the company as advisors warned it was not enough.

With the new bid, Lampert will assume tax and vendor bills incurred since Sears’ October bankruptcy, said a source close to the situation.

If Sears accepts this bid, it allows ESL to participate in an auction set for Jan. 14 against other buyers who are not interested in keeping the store alive.

It was last Friday that Lampert submitted a $120-million deposit required of him by the bankruptcy court to submit his bid.

“Our going-concern bid provides the best path forward for the company, the best option to save tens of thousands of jobs and is superior for all of Sears’ stakeholders to the alternative of a complete liquidation,” according to ESL.

Disclaimer: We have no position in Sears Holdings Corp. (OTCMKTS: SHLDQ) and have not been compensated for this article.