Eddie Lampert sweetens Sears bid by $600 million ahead of an auction that will decide the company's fate (SHLD)

January 10, 2019 at 10:24 AM EST

Reuters

Sears Chairman Eddie Lampert on Wednesday boosted his takeover bid to $5 billion, up from $4.4 billion.
Lampert's new proposal will be assessed against competing parties' bids at an auction scheduled for Monday.
Lampert's offer is the only one that would avoid a liquidation.

Sears Chairman Eddie Lampert has sweetened his bid for the company's assets in a final attempt to avoid a liquidation.

Lampert, through an affiliate of his hedge fund, ESL Investments, on Wednesday submitted a $5 billion takeover bid, which was revised from an earlier bid worth $4.4 billion that Sears had rejected.

Lampert's new bid, which would assume additional Sears liabilities worth roughly $663 million, will be assessed against competing parties' bids at an auction scheduled for Monday.

The winning bid must get approval from the US bankruptcy court at a hearing on January 31.

Lampert's offer is the only bid that would avoid a liquidation. It would keep more than 400 stores open and save roughly 50,000 jobs, according to ESL.

"We believe our proposal will provide substantially more value to stakeholders than any other option, in particular a liquidation, and is the best path forward for Sears, its associates and the many communities across the United States touched by Sears and Kmart stores," a spokesman for ESL Investments said. "We look forward to having our proposal evaluated by the debtors at Monday's auction."

If Lampert's bid is rejected, the company's assets will likely be sold off in parts and going-out-of-business sales at its stores would begin within weeks.

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