Update: After this story was published the bankruptcy judge hearing the case gave Sears Chairman Eddie Lampert another chance to buy the company, according to CNBC and several other business news outlets.
The end of the road for Sears may be near.
Reuters reports Sears Holdings Corp. is asking a bankruptcy judge Tuesday if it can proceed with liquidation after it could not reach an agreement on Chairman Edward Lampert’s $4.4 billion takeover bid.
If that plan is approved it would likely mean Sears stores across the nation would close, including the Sears department stores at The Avenues and Orange Park malls.
The Jacksonville area also has Sears outlet stores and other Sears-associated businesses.
NPR reported in October that Sears is drowning in $5.5 billion of outstanding debt.
Hedge-fund manager Eddie Lampert took over the company in 2013. He was both the company's biggest investor and a major lender, and he was tasked with orchestrating a difficult turnaround.
During the bankruptcy filing, Lampert was removed as the company's CEO.
Last year, Sears' stock tumbled after the company acknowledged in an annual filing that its future viability was uncertain. It closed dozens of stores that same year, citing nonprofitability. In August, its stock fell from about $6 to below the minimum $1 level Nasdaq stocks must maintain in order to avoid being delisted.
Bill Bortzfield can be reached at bbortzfield@wjct.org, 904-358-6349 or on Twitter at @BortzInJax.
Photo used under Creative Commons license.
