ESL Investments, the hedge fund run by Sears chairman and former CEO Eddie Lampert, has made a $4.6 billion offer today to buy Sears out of bankruptcy.
According to CNBC, the proposal includes $950 million in borrowed cash, $1.8 billion from the sale of secured creditor collateral (a so-called credit bid), and the assumption of about $1.1 billion in liabilities from gift cards, loyalty program points and extended warranties.
ESL said the purchase price would include 500 stores and save about 50,000 of the company’s current 68,000 jobs.
CNBC added that a stalking horse bidder, to be named in bankruptcy court on Dec. 15, may also be vying for the business, and that Sears’ unsecured creditors, looking to salvage maximum value, would rather see the company liquidated and auctioned off in pieces than sold to ESL.
Related: Attention Sears And Kmart Shoppers: ‘We’re Open For Business’
