SEARS CANADA SEEKS TO LIQUIDATE REMAINING STORES
Sears Canada Inc. is applying for court approval to liquidate all of its remaining stores and assets after failing to find a buyer that would allow it to continue as a going concern.
The embattled retailer has been operating under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act since June.
The court overseeing Sears Canada’s operations is expected to hear a motion Friday seeking approval for the liquidation and wind down of the business.
Sears Canada said in a statement Tuesday it “deeply regrets this pending outcome and the resulting loss of jobs and store closures.”
The company wants to start the liquidation sales no later than Oct. 19 and expects them to continue for 10 to 14 weeks.
Last Tuesday, Sears received a revised bid from a buyer group led by its executive chairman Brandon Stranzl to buy the business as a going concern.
However, a lawyer for Sears Canada’s court-appointed monitor told the court last week said it would consider it but the company was running out of money and time.
Litigators for a group of lenders who have provided debtor-in-possession financing to Sears Canada to keep it afloat pushed for a liquidation agreement to be entered into by Oct. 7 at the latest. The lenders pushed for approval no later than Oct. 13, in order to liquidate before the crucial holiday season and maximize value.