Sears hires real estate firm to shop around stores

Sears Holdings is dropping their dead weight. Bloomberg has reported that the retailer has hired real estate firm John Lang LaSalle to shop around about 500 of its U.S. stores. The good news is that they are already attracting strong interest from other retailers and mall owners. There is the possibility that properties could be worth more to creditors dead than alive, which could complicate Sears Holdings chairman Eddie Lampert's plan to buy the company and keep the stores open.

According to an SEC regulatory filing on Thursday, Lampert made a 4.6 billion dollar bid through his hedge fund, ESL investments, for Sears Holdings, its real estate, and brands like Kenmare and Sears Auto Services.

According to Retail Dive, under the terms of the deal, liquidation of roughly 500 Sears and Kmart stores would be prevented, therefore continuing to employ about 50,000 workers. The bid includes up to 950 million dollars in cash to be funded with the proceeds of a new asset-based credit facility to be obtained by Newco, a 1.8 billion dollar credit bid and 1.1 billion dollar in assumed liabilities with respect to certain protection agreements, gift cards and accrued points under the Shop Your Way loyalty program.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the company has been entertaining numerous bids from liquidators interested in closing the stores. The issue with Lampert's bid is the court battle that's been playing out between him and Sears unsecured creditors who are unsure if Sears has a viable future as a retailer. Attorneys for the creditors filed an objection to the plan to sell remaining stores and dismissed Sears' idea for a turnaround plan as it did not seem viable.

photo: via searsholdings.com