Bid To Save Sears Raised To Over $5B, Some Concessions: Report

NEW YORK, NY – UPDATED The chairman of Sears Holdings Corp. reportedly presented his latest plan to save the 126-year-old company Tuesday, and the new offer is estimated at more than $5 billion. Eddie Lampert unveiled his latest offer Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing anonymous sources. The bid, which would prevent Sears from being liquidated, included some concessions, including more cash.

The bid Tuesday follows more than 12 hours of discussions Monday on whether to save the iconic retailer. The future of Sears and its Kmart brand are being discussed in Manhattan after a bankruptcy judge last week gave the company one last chance to survive. Sears was reportedly very close to liquidating.

But negotiators didn't immediately fall in love with Lampert's plan to revive the struggling store, Yahoo! Finance reported, citing anonymous sources. Discussions began again around 9 a.m. Tuesday and negotiators planned to focus on Lampert's proposal rather than other bids from liquidators.

Sears, which filed for bankruptcy protection in October, announced more than 250 store closings in 2018. Lampert was given the chance to improve upon his $4.4 billion bid to acquire the company and keep it's roughly 400 stores operating. His initial bid was deemed "insufficient."

On Monday, a bankruptcy court was scheduled to hold an auction where the people owed money by Sears will weigh his latest plan to keep the stores open and its roughly 50,000 workers employed. In other words, they'll have to decide whether they'll recover more money by allowing Lampert to keep the company going or by systematically selling the chain off.

Lampert was the only person to put forth a proposal to save the struggling chain in its entirety, according to The Associated Press. He sweetened his bid for Sears to more than $5 billion and added a $120 million cash deposit through an affiliate of his ESL hedge fund.Lampert, who took control of Sears in 2005, has said publicly he wants to rescue the company because he thinks it can still succeed.

“For as long as I have been involved with Sears, I have cared deeply about the company, its associates and the people they serve,” Lampert said in a statement sent through ESL to AP. “While the opportunity I saw from the start for Sears to benefit from the disruptive changes in retail and technology has not worked out so far, it is still there to be taken. Every transformation involves perseverance and risk, but I am hopeful that we can execute better and faster on the smaller platform we are bidding on ... There is every reason to fight for its future.”

It wasn’t immediately clear what will happen to Colorado’s remaining stores if the company liquidates, though some could already be slated to close. In December, the company announced that stores in Colorado Springs and Pueblo would be closed. Sears stores in Grand Junction, Lakewood and Centennial were already on the list, as well as the Kmart in Arvada.

Related: More Sears Stores Closing In Colorado

Related: Sears Bankruptcy: 2 Denver-Area Stores Will Close, 142 Nationwide

Related: Grand Junction Sears, Arvada Kmart Closing: Important Dates

Sears’ most recent store closures were announced on Dec. 28, the same day Lampert made his bid for the company. The 80 stores announced for closure that day will terminate business in March 2019. An additional 40 store closures announced in November will close in February 2019.

The Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October, announcing the closure of 142 unprofitable locations at the time.

Patch national staffers Feroze Dhanoa and Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

Check back for updates as we learn more about the liquidation proceedings. Patch will update this report if any store closings are announced.

Photo credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images

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