Aiming to raise up to $500 million in liquidity for the struggling retailer, Sears Holdings Corp. filed registration documents with Securities and Exchange Commission to spinoff its hardware and outlet stores.
According to the prospectus filed Monday, shareholders will get the right to buy one share in the new company, Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores Inc., for each share of Sears common stock they own. Sears said it expects the new shares to be traded on the Nasdaq exchange in the third quarter.
That will give Chairman Edward Lampert, who owns roughly 62 percent of Sears Holdings, a stake of at least that much in the new company.
Lampert took control of Sears in 2005, and combined it with Kmart. He cut investments in the physical stores in favor of pouring money into its online business and share repurchases. But those moves backfired: As the stores deteriorated, so did the company’s sales.
The public offering to spin off the more than 1,100 hometown and 122 outlet stores should raise $400 million to $500 million, the company said. Hometown stores are small hardware stores, usually operated by independent retailers. Outlet stores, which thrived during the recession, sell Sears merchandise at a discount.
In its securities filing, the company said it plans to close six Hometown stores and nine outlet stores in the first half of the year.
crshropshire@tribune.com | Twitter:@corilyns
