Sears creditors want liquidation despite CEO’s bid: Decision coming Monday

Sears chairman Eddie Lampert and creditors are both awaiting a Monday hearing date when a bankruptcy court judge will determine if Lampert will buy what’s left of the company.

ESL Investments, the hedge fund operated by Lampert was the winning bidder in a bankruptcy auction Jan. 14. The $5.2 billion bid is still subject to approval in bankruptcy court.

Creditors have asked a judge not to approve the sale.

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In an unusual step, major Sears creditors filed a 136-page history of what they described as “Sear’s tragic descent from giant to ghost” and the that Lampert and ESL have played in the company’s decades-long decline, according to USA Today.

The creditors allege that Lampert orchestrated a scheme to steal Sears.

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The company filed for bankruptcy in October and closed 3,500 stores at a loss of about 250,000 jobs, according to the creditors.

ESL said it “vigorously disputes” the creditors’ accusations as “misleading or just flat wrong.”

All area Sears are already planned to close. The Piqua store will shut down next Month and Springfield location is set to close in March.

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