Sears Holdings Corp Chairman Eddie Lampert prevailed in a bankruptcy auction for the department store chain with an improved takeover bid of roughly $5.2 billion, allowing the 126-year-old retailer to keep its doors open. Lampert’s bid, boosted from an earlier $5-billion offer, prevailed after weeks of back-and-forth deliberations that culminated in a days-long bankruptcy auction held behind closed doors. The billionaire’s proposal, made through his hedge fund ESL Investments Inc., will save up to 45,000 jobs and keep 425 stores open across the United States.
However, mall owners have mixed reactions to keeping stores open. Strong landlords that own well-located stores in high-performing malls such as Simon Property Group are itching to get their hands on the Sears stores; they’re looking for redevelopment that would result in significantly higher rents. Weaker mall owners like CBL Associates are dealing with other failed department store redevelopments and do not have the capital to redevelop a large block of Sears stores all at once.
Meanwhile, according to CBS, Shopko has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from creditors on January 16th due to excessive debt and competitive pressures. The retailer released a list of 105 stores that will close within the first four months of 2019 and announced plans to shutter an additional 38 underperforming locations as it works through the bankruptcy process.