Sears, one of America's greatest retail legends, most notable for its commitment to serve black customers through the era of Jim Crow with its mail catalog, was facing imminent liquidation this morning, but this afternoon it appears to have been spared heading for history's scrap heap.
Sears was facing the possibility of shutting down, until it reached an 11th-hour deal Tuesday to stay open, at least for now.
After two long delays at a morning hearing in bankruptcy court, attorneys for Sears announced it had accepted a revised bid from a hedge fund controlled by Eddie Lampert, the chairman and former CEO of Sears. The deal would keep 425 of the stores open.
Lampert's $4.4 billion offer does not complete the sale, but rather starts an auction that is due to be completed on January 14. It is still possible that those wishing to shutdown the company will bid more for the assets than Lampert is offering.
Judge Robert Drain still needs to approve the agreement, but called the deal "a good development."
It gives Sears a chance to survive, which appeared to be slipping way heading into the hearing.
Lampert submitted a bid on December 28 and Sears had until Friday to accept it, but the company didn't comment before Tuesday's hearing. That's because attorneys were working feverishly to get it done.
The deal was reached after days of "virtually round-the-clock negotiations," Sears attorney Ray Schrock told the court.
The talks continued into Tuesday. A hearing planned for 10 a.m. didn't actually get underway until after 1 p.m. because attorneys were huddled to discuss details of the bid.
In the end, greed wrecked Sears, it will eventually be pillaged, and 50,000 jobs and 125 years of history will sacrificed on the altar of Wall Street. JC Penney's is almost certainly next.
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