Sears Has Been Saved…But Not In Rockford

Could the "Going Out Of Business" signs at Sears in the CherryVale Mall  be going bye bye soon? This morning news broke that one man just won the company in a bankruptcy auction and is hoping to keep stores open and save thousands of jobs.

The Associated Press reports;

The company’s chairman and largest shareholder and chairman, Eddie Lampert, won a bankruptcy auction for Sears in New York, averting liquidation of the iconic chain, according to a source familiar with the negotiations. The person agreed to speak on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the negotiation publicly.

Lampert was the only one to put forth a proposal to rescue the floundering company in its entirety. He had sweetened his bid multiple times to more than $5 billion over the last few days through an affiliate of his hedge fund ESL. Details of the final terms couldn’t be learned.

Lampert, who steered the company into bankruptcy protection, may be able to keep the roughly 400 remaining Sears stores open, which would mean tens of thousands of jobs are saved, at least for now.

A spokesperson for CBL properties, a Tennessee-based company that owns the CherryVale Mall, says the mall location is closing in March. The spokesperson says it's too soon to disclose details on what will fill the vacant space.