Sears chairman wins auction for troubled department store chain with $5.2bn bid
The chairman of bankrupt US department store chain Sears has won an auction for the retailer with a bid of $5.2bn (£4bn).
Read more: Bidders table competing offers for struggling HMV
Eddie Lampert prevailed in the auction today after weeks of back-and-forth negotiations.
Lampert’s bid, made through his hedge fund, ESL Investments, will keep up to 425 stores open and save up to 45,000 jobs across the US.
According to Reuters sources, Lampert won the auction held at the New York offices of Sears’ law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges after adding more cash and agreeing to take on more liabilities.
The deal still needs to be documented and approved by a US bankruptcy judge with a hearing expected to be scheduled for later this week.
A group of creditors is objecting to the deal.
Sears is one of the most high profile US casualties of the rise of online retailers such as Amazon.
Read more: All the biggest retailers to close shop in 2018
Others include toy chain Toys R Us, which went to the wall last year.