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In the proposal, Lampert asked the Sears board of directors to sell about $ 1.75 billion of assets, which would reduce the retailer's total debt by nearly 80% to $ 1.24 billion. dollars, according to documents filed Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Lampert also proposes that Sears sells approximately $ 1.5 billion in real estate, much of which has been used as collateral in the past to generate cash. A portion of the stores in such a transaction would be rented to Sears, according to the proposal.
Sears operated 866 stores under its eponymous brand and Kmart on August 4th.
Lampert hopes that the chain of department stores will eventually refinance a debt of $ 1.1 billion.
"The ESL proposal is designed to allow Sears Holdings to continue its transformation and return to profitability for the benefit of its many partners," said ESL President Kunal S. Kamlani, in a statement. email addressed to CNBC. "We would welcome broad investor participation and encourage the Sears Board of Directors and other interested parties to work with us as quickly as possible to advance the transactions we have proposed or to propose reasonable alternatives."
Earlier this month, Sears announced a net loss of $ 508 million for the quarter. Its adjusted loss before amortization of interest taxes was $ 112 million compared to a loss of $ 66 million in the same quarter of the previous year.
At the time, Mr. Lampert sounded the alarm of possible negative consequences if the company did not restructure its debt or obtain the approval of a special committee for the sale of its assets.
"Given the pace and results achieved to date by our efforts to monetize assets, it is imperative that the company reduce its debt, adjust its debt maturity profile and eliminate cash interest obligations." , wrote Lampert. "We continue to believe that it is in the interest of all our stakeholders to achieve this as an active business, rather than alternative solutions that can result in significant write-downs."
Sears appointed a special committee at the beginning of the year to balance the potential conflict of interest inherent in ESL's bid for Kenmore and home improvement activities. The committee frustrated Lampert's slow pace, a source close to the situation told CNBC.
The committee discussed with other potential buyers to see if he could get a higher bid, the source said.
The riddle of the special committee is amplified by the difficult situation facing the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, the federal government oversight agency that guarantees the pensions of individuals and holds a lien on the intellectual property of Kenmore.
Sears shares, which previously traded above $ 140, recently reached a historic low of $ 1.07. The stock initially rose more than 20% Monday morning, but its last drop was 5.5% to trade around $ 1.20. Sears' market capitalization is approximately $ 131 million today.
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