Exclusive: Sears Plans to Close Up to 150 Bankruptcy Stores – Sources

(Reuters) – Sears Holdings Corp (SHLD.Oplans to close up to 150 stores and discount stores and open at least 300 more as part of a restructuring plan under the protection of the US bankruptcy, announced Friday sources close to the case.

The plans, which remained unchanged on Friday afternoon, would leave the fate of some 250 Sears stores unclear, the sources said. The future of the stores could depend on Sears' negotiations with the owners about their leases.

The 125-year-old, once the largest retailer in the United States, hopes to sell stores and other assets, including its home appliance brand Kenmore and its home-based service business, as part of a sub-auction. judicial supervision, under the protection of bankruptcy, indicated these sources.

Sears Chief Executive Officer Eddie Lampert, also the company's largest shareholder and creditor, is studying the possibility of bidding on assets as a so-called tracker.

Reuters announced Thursday that for the first time Lampert was exploring the market for certain Sears assets. Such a plan could potentially keep a slimmer Sears alive, the source said.

Sears was progressing in its negotiations with banks on Friday for funding that would allow it to stay afloat during the holiday season while it was in bankruptcy court, with lenders having to provide several hundred million dollars, indicated sources. The amount of the bankruptcy loan should not significantly exceed $ 400 million, even though it could end up being lower, the sources said.

An unresolved key aspect of Sears' negotiations with lenders is setting deadlines for Sears to achieve specific business objectives while being protected from bankruptcy, the sources said.

Sears plans to seek bankruptcy protection in New York as early as Sunday night, although a case may still be filed in court on Monday, sources added, asking not to be identified because the negotiations were confidential.

Sears did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lampert could help finance his asset offerings by canceling some of the money Sears owes him, instead of putting more money, Reuters reported Thursday.

At its peak in the 1960s, Sears sold everything from toys to auto parts to mail order houses, and was a key tenant in almost every major shopping mall in the United States.

But he struggled to reinvent himself in the face of online competition from companies such as Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN.O), as well as other traditional retailers, including Walmart Inc. (WMT.N).