Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
Sears CEO Edward Lampert has offered to purchase the company’s real estate holdings, its appliance-parts business, home services offerings and the Kenmore appliances brand, The New York Times reports.
The purchase would be made through ESL Investments, a hedge fund Lampert manages. Lampert outlined the proposal in a letter to Sears’ board of directors. The Times reports that Lampert’s offer could help the company pay down debts as its sales and revenue tumble.
“We continue to see the value in Sears and its underlying assets and believe strongly that with an appropriate runway, Sears will be able to complete its transformation,” Lampert says in the letter.
Lampert offered to pay Sears $500 million for the company’s appliance parts and its home services offerings, but did not place a price on purchasing the Kenmore brand or the price for the company’s existing real estate.
The Times reports that Sears has been trying to find an acceptable buyer for these assets for almost two years, but had not been able to do so.
Lampert’s proposal requires the approval of Sears’ board of directors, and Lampert has recused himself from any discussion of the deal, according to the report from the Times.
In January, Lampert loaned Sears $100 million. Earlier this month, Sears announced the closure of its last Chicago store and detailed plans to sell 16 stores online.
