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This guy, again.............: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/15/sears-deal-with-chairman-eddie-lampert.html

Midday Tuesday, billionaire Eddie Lampert’s efforts to keep Sears alive were dead.

Lawyers and bankers who had been holed up in the offices of Weil, Gotshal & Manges on Fifth Avenue to work out a deal between Lampert and Sears Holdings were resigned to the reality that the company would liquidate and the Sears chairman’s efforts to save up to 50,000 jobs would have been for naught, people familiar with the situation told CNBC.

There were too many sticking points, according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information is confidential.

The roughly $5 billion offer Lampert was making through an affiliate of his hedge fund ESL Investments wasn’t large enough to cover all of the company’s administrative expenses, like vendor payments and advisory fees. Sears’ unsecured creditors had virulently argued since day one against Lampert’s efforts to revive the retailer. The offer relied on a $1.3 billion so-called credit bid, meaning the deal is funded in part by forgiving debt owed to ESL. Sears’ unsecured creditors have objected to its use.

Sears called up the bankruptcy judge to share the news.

But Judge Robert Drain didn’t accept it, the person said. He told Sears and ESL to give it another go. There was a chance of saving thousands of jobs and they should try to figure out how to do so – by midnight.

Sears and ESL’s lawyers hunkered down again, as advisors ran through the offices meeting with Sears’ restructuring committee and ESL.

But midnight came and went. By 2 a.m., after hours of gamesmanship and negotiations, Sears and ESL finally reached a deal. ESL agreed to boost its offer by about $150 million, putting the full bid slightly over $5.2 billion, the people said, and keeping the company from shutting about 400 stores.

Lampert found yet one more rabbit to pull out of a hat with a seemingly infinite capacity for bunnies.

Neither Sears nor ESL are out of the woods yet. Sears unsecured creditors are opposed to the bid, people familiar with situation said. They have said there may be claims against Sears for deals done under Lampert’s tenure as CEO and its largest shareholder, which include Sears’ spinoff of Lands’ End in 2014 and transactions with Seritage Growth Properties, a real estate investment trust Lampert created through some Sears’ properties a year later.

If the unsecured creditors formally object to the bid, the bankruptcy judge will need to assess the merits of their claim at a hearing Feb. 1 at the Southern District of New York Bankruptcy Court in White Plains. Lampert needs Drain’s approval for the bid to be official.

Such lawsuits and pressure are not atypical of bankruptcies. In a situation as thorny as Sears’, however, it is possible the unsecured creditors believe they can squeeze more out of Sears through litigation than through a sale to Lampert.

As part of the deal struck in the early hours, ESL is offering $35 million to settle those claims, the person said. It is likely the unsecured creditors will, at the very least, push for more settlement money from Lampert.

The unsecured creditors have eight days to object to a bid.Sears then has two days to offer up a response.

A spokesperson for ESL declined comment.

 

[infinitys_7th]

Can't wait to see who all the thief screws over now, after defrauding K-Mart/Sears retirees of their pensions.

Also, how do you work out a deal with yourself? Hey, my hand gave me blueballs.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Sears hasn’t been very good in a long time, overall they’ll still be at risk of complete shutdown.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

SEARS was the first American retail store to take a chance on videogame consoles. They offered the home version of Pong in their Sporting Goods section.

They probably deserve to die off, though. They were the SEGA of department stores. They were very innovative and had tons of customer-friendly policies. I remember in the 90s the clothing department had a deal where you could trade in your pants for free if they wore out before a certain amount of time. My mom used this a few times because I climbed fences and scuffed on concrete/asphalt areas of our city, and I did this enough to rip a few pairs.

I remember her explaining to me that after a few years, SEARS removed the warranty because people were going to Goodwill and thrift stores, buying beat-up jeans, and then using receipts to turn them in for another free pair of jeans. This is the 90s, so it's not like most department store POS systems were sophisticated enough to database all the customers who used this program. It ended up losing them tons of money, and I'm pretty sure they've had similar losses from their warranties on tools and equipment sold through their stores.

 

[dolabla]

There needs to be some drastic changes if they want to survive, but realistically things are probably way too late. And with that failure of Eddie Lampert again? Yeah, they're just delaying the inevitable. It's a shame what has happened to them and K-Mart.

I guess some people get to keep their jobs for a little longer, but I'd be looking to get out ASAP if I were an employee.

 

[cryptoadam]

But why?

They will just continue to lose money and move into irrelevance. Sears is not going to compete with Amazon or Walmart.

 

[Rentahamster]

I remember her explaining to me that after a few years, SEARS removed the warranty because people were going to Goodwill and thrift stores, buying beat-up jeans, and then using receipts to turn them in for another free pair of jeans. This is the 90s, so it's not like most department store POS systems were sophisticated enough to database all the customers who used this program. It ended up losing them tons of money, and I'm pretty sure they've had similar losses from their warranties on tools and equipment sold through their stores.

That sucks how unscrupulous folks abuse the system like that. I mean, it's not like I've never done anything like return an item when it was already past the return period or whatever, but abusing the system like that just ruins it for the rest of us.

thisiswhywecan'thavenicethings.gif

 

[Superkamikaze]

How does slick eddie get away with all the shit he's pulled? lol

 

[davepoobond]

Run a company into the ground and then you get to own it.

Nice work

 

[Super Mario]

There is no deal here to save Sears. Only to prolong their death.

It's a shame because Sears really isn't that bad. It's just being crushed by poor leadership.

 

[Wag]

I

There is no deal here to save Sears. Only to prolong their death.

It's a shame because Sears really isn't that bad. It's just being crushed by poor leadership.

Not bad no, in the internet age they’re obsolete. Walmart has really taken over as the American retail store- Sears just can’t compete with their cutthroat practices.

 

[dolabla]

It's pretty much official. Will be approved by the Judge to Lampert tomorrow: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/07/edd...ears-approved-retailer-given-second-life.html

Sears Holdings was granted a new lifeline on Thursday as its sale to Chairman Eddie Lampert, through an affiliate of his hedge fund ESL Investments, was approved by a federal bankruptcy court judge.
ESL has said the $5.2 billion deal to buy the company will save 425 stores and roughly 45,000 jobs. Judge Robert Drain, of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, said he expects to enter the order on Friday, thereby making it official.

The deal though, has been protested by its unsecured creditors, which have lambasted the deal as a “scheme to rob Sears and its creditors of assets.” They have accused Lampert of using his unique position as Sears’ longtime chairman, CEO and largest shareholder to orchestrate deals that unduly benefited him.

In a trial that spanned three days and two courtrooms within the White Plains, New York courthouse, Drain overheard a litany of concerns from Sears’ unsecured creditors, who pointed to potential flaws in ESL’s business plan and its previous failures running the retail giant. The creditors attacked the bankruptcy sale that Sears ran as it looked for a buyer and argued that ESL’s bid was deficient.

As Drain read his ruling Thursday, he outlined the obligations before him, as laid out by the bankruptcy code. He said he had to determine whether the deal made “good business sense,” which the judge said he believed it did. A continued focus for Drain throughout the trial was the fact that Lampert’s deal was the only route to saving 45,000 jobs.

He closed his ruling by directly addressing Lampert, though the reclusive billionaire was at his house in Florida and not in attendance.

Many have accused Lampert of making decisions that led to the retailer’s troubles and he has been the subject of “verbal abuse,” Drain said. In addition to the accusations lobbed by the company’s unsecured creditors during the course of Sears’ bankruptcy, Lampert has also been a target of presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, angry former Sears’ workers, as well as retail pundits.

With Sears’ revival, said Drain, Lampert “has the opportunity not to be a cartoon character ... he should do that.”
The judge urged Lampert to continue to have a clear communication process with the company and its employees as he guides the emerged business.

Lampert’s previous missteps, communicating and otherwise, were well documented over the course of the trial. Lampert merged Sears and Kmart in 2005, and both companies have fallen since then. The combined company has not turned a profit since 2010.

 

[TheShadowLord]

Maybe they should go back and try selling houses again. Like, selling smart houses. What corporation even sells houses that Sears used to?

 

[ResilientBanana]

Maybe change the name and give it a different look. No one gives two shits about Sears.

 

[TacosNSalsa]

There is still a K-Mart one town over from my mom's place. While they have okay stuff (it's the only place that I can actually walk in and get Transformers figures) everything in the store infrastructure is ANCIENT. They have a slurpee machine on the way out,it don't work. Price checkers around the store, they don't work. When your done cashing out(when the cashier registers actually work) you get ,and I shit you not, a receipt that is close to 4 ft long. They even got an old a$$ guy checking the bags at the door, which he doesn't do 90% of the time because of how long the f*cking receipt is !

 

[dolabla]

There is still a K-Mart one town over from my mom's place. While they have okay stuff (it's the only place that I can actually walk in and get Transformers figures) everything in the store infrastructure is ANCIENT. They have a slurpee machine on the way out,it don't work. Price checkers around the store, they don't work. When your done cashing out(when the cashier registers actually work) you get ,and I shit you not, a receipt that is close to 4 ft long. They even got an old a$$ guy checking the bags at the door, which he doesn't do 90% of the time because of how long the f*cking receipt is !

Yep, Lampert has never invested in the stores to bring them up to modern times. Dude is just an all around scumbag. He obviously knows how to game the system for his own personal benefit.