Sears finds itself under the gun yet again as bankruptcy fears seem to be taking over. While the firm has gone nowhere but down in recent memory, bankruptcy appears all but imminent.
Back in October, the firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to alleviate some of the financial liabilities and costs. Even though this has resulted in the closing of hundreds of stores and the liquidation of some of the properties, Sears finds itself in a tough predicament.
The firm will face a bankruptcy judge on Tuesday to see if it can proceed with liquidation after it failed to reach a deal with its Chairman Eddy Lampert for a $4.4 billion takeover bid.
According to the bid from Lampert, it called for 425 stores to remain open and offered jobs to 50,000 of its remaining employees. However, the time has passed for the bid and the courts will decide the fate of Sears.
USA Today commented on Sears as well, saying:
But even impressive financial engineering wouldn’t give customers an immediate reason to begin shopping at Sears or its discount-store sibling Kmart, whose blue-light specials once lured customers looking to save a buck.
With the company teetering on the edge of implosion, attorneys for Sears will appear before a federal bankruptcy judge in New York at 10 a.m. to provide updates on the company’s asset bidding process.
The retailer received an acquisition offer from chairman and former CEO Eddie Lampert’s hedge fund, ESL Investments, that would keep about 425 stores open and 50,000 employees working.
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