Sears’ last-ditch effort to avoid bankruptcy

Sears could face bankruptcy if it doesn’t meet its next debt payment, due in the coming weeks. Now the retailer’s chief executive has come up with a last-minute plan to save it, after already closing thousands of stores and selling off some of its key brands.

Edward Lampert, who owns the hedge fund ESL Investments and is also the retailer’s largest shareholder and creditor, has asked creditors to refinance $1.1 billion in debt before a $134-million debt payment due Oct. 15, according to a Sunday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He also called for the company to sell off $3.25 billion worth of real estate and assets, including Sears Home Services and the company’s flagship Kenmore brand, which Lampert offered to buy last month for $400 million.

In the filing, Lampert’s hedge fund said it “must act immediately to have sufficient runway to continue its transformation” if Sears is to become profitable again. The company, which includes 820 Sears and Kmart stores, has about $5.6 billion in outstanding debt.

“Eddie Lampert is seeking permission from himself to keep Sears on life support while he continues to drain every last remaining drop of blood from its corpse,” said Mark Cohen, director of retail studies at Columbia Business School and former CEO of Sears Canada. “The operation is a failure, and there is no plan to turn that around.”

Sears said its board, which is chaired by Lampert, had received the proposal and had directed its advisors “to work closely with ESL.” Analysts said the plan is likely to pass because Lampert is Sears’ largest shareholder.

Lampert’s latest attempts may provide a short-term life line, but analysts said that it is not a sustainable plan for a company that has failed to reinvent itself. Sears, which hasn’t turned a profit since 2010, last year posted a loss of $383 million. Sales dropped 25% to $16.7 billion.