Sears Canada Looks to Sell, Lays off Thousands

In June, Sears Canada filed for bankruptcy protection and announced plans to close 59 locations and cut 2,900 jobs, according to Global News. Now, the company will begin reaching out to potential buyers while it’s under creditor protection, CBC News reports.

The company plans to “shutter dozens of stores in the coming weeks while it negotiates with potential buyers who might acquire some or all of the company’s remaining assets,” according to CBC News.

Initially, the department store chain requested “the court for permission to immediately halt payments for pension, health and dental benefits for laid-off employees, retirees and surviving spouses due to a severe cash crunch,” however, an agreement was made to continue payments until Sept. 30.

Sears Canada will begin liquidation sales of inventory no later than July 21 and plans to complete them by Oct. 12.

“The national retailer and its court-ordered monitor, FTI Consulting Inc., can select one or more successful bids by Oct. 25,” according to the CBC article.

Sears Canada spun off from the U.S. retailer Sears Holdings Corp. in 2012. However, Sears Holdings Corp. chairman and CEO Eddie Lampert and his company ESL Partners LP and Fairholme own about two-thirds of Sears Canada, according to Reuters. Last week, Lampert and his investment company sought access to internal documents related to Sears Canada’s restructuring, “asking the court to grant access to Sears Canada’s employee retention plans, details on expected store closing costs relative to the savings expected and a financial retainer agreement,” Reuters reports.