(Reuters)
Sears Holdings Corp Chairman Eddie Lampert submitted a $4.4 billion takeover bid for the bankrupt U.S. retailer, representing its only chance of escaping liquidation and laying off tens of thousands of workers, a spokesman for the billionaire’s hedge fund said on Friday.
A Sears logo is seen inside a department store in Garden City, New York, U.S., May 23, 2016. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
Lampert’s bid is backed in part by $1.3 billion in financing from three different financial institutions, the spokesman for his hedge fund, ESL Investments Inc, said. It would preserve about 425 stores that Sears has yet to close, and secure the jobs of up to 50,000 workers out of the 68,000 employed by the retailer. An affiliate of ESL, Transform Holdco LLC, submitted the bid, the spokesman said.
People familiar with the matter said the financing comes from Sears’ existing lenders Bank of America Corp and Citigroup Inc, as well Royal Bank of Canada, which was not previously a lender, which together agreed to provide a $950 million asset-based loan and a $350 million revolving credit line. Read more