Sears Chairman’s Hedge Fund Wins Bankruptcy Auction

ESL Investments, the hedge fund managed by Sears chairman Edward Lampert, has prevailed in a bankruptcy auction to save Sears from liquidation, according to a report from Reuters.

The bid is valued at more than $5.2 billion and is more than $150 million higher than a previous bid from Lampert outlined earlier this month, according to the article.

If approved by bankruptcy judges, the proposal would save approximately 45,000 jobs and keep 425  locations open across the U.S., the article states.

According to the report, representatives from Sears “had believed Lampert’s earlier bids fell short of conveying the bills the retailer has racked up since filing for bankruptcy protection in October. A bedrock principle of bankruptcy cases is that those expenses must be fully repaid.”