Sears Chairman Eddie Lampert’s $5.2 billion bid to buy the retailer’s assets and keep the chain alive was approved Thursday afternoon by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain in White Plains, N.Y., according to reports.
The decision finalizes Lampert’s effort to preserve about 425 stores and 45,000 jobs. The acquisiition was opposed by some creditors, who believed they recoup more through a liquidation.
Drain rejected the arguments that Lampert’s offer was unfair. The $5.2 billion offer, submitted through Lampert’s ESL hedge fund, was the only plan that would keep Sears, once the world’s largest retailer, in business.
