Should J.C. Penney be split up or sold?

Forty-five days into its Chapter 11 reorganization, J.C. Penney’s bankruptcy can still go in a few different directions.

All possibilities are still alive, including interest from three or four outside investors wanting to buy all or some of the 118-year-old retailer, according to discussions during a hearing Wednesday before U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge David Jones.

Bankers and advisers are in the process of splitting up the real estate as part of the stated plan for Penney to emerge as two entities: a real estate investment trust owning some of the real estate and a successor J.C. Penney operating company. Penney would still own some of its real estate but would also pay rent to the REIT.

A third outcome, if negotiations fall apart, would be a liquidation with the proceeds going to Penney’s lenders and creditors. The judge reminded the lawyers that the first lien lenders should also be preparing a stalking horse bid, or a floor bid on the assets, in the event that Penney is put up for bids.

Penney has a few important deadlines coming up. So far its case has mostly stayed on schedule.

It has to deliver its business plan to lenders on Wednesday, and they have until July 14 to accept or reject it. As proposed now, Penney’s first lien lenders will own the REIT, said Penney’s lawyer Joshua Sussberg of Kirkland & Ellis.

The Plano, Texas-based retailer’s investment banker, Christian Tempke, managing director at Lazard, testified during the hearing that three potential investors in

J.C. Penney have signed nondisclosure agreements.

Tempke said the parties will walk if their identities are disclosed. The discussion turned awkward after that, especially since Jones noted there have been multiple published articles in recent weeks reporting rumors and leaks about who’s interested in buying Penney.

So far, major business publications including Bloomberg, CNBC, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and Women’s Wear Daily have published reports quoting unnamed sources that:

Private equity firm Sycamore Partners was in preliminary talks to purchase Penney.

Penney’s biggest mall landlords, Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Partners, would buy Penney.

Authentic Brands Group is interested in buying Penney. It has recently acquired Forever 21 and Barneys New York out of bankruptcy.

And finally, the possibility that Amazon might be interested in Penney and that executives from the online giant were spotted at Penney’s Plano headquarters.