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from the and-isn't-it-ironic?-don't-you-think? dept.
Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
Sears, the one-time titan of American retail, filed for bankruptcy ahead of a $134 million debt payment due Monday and announced that it will close 142 stores.
For years, Sears has contended with the threat that it would become the latest big-name retailer to fall to online competition and crushing debt. The icon once known for its pristine catalogs, and more recently known for decrepit showrooms and a controversial chief executive, saw its stock price plunge last week after reports that it had hired an advisory firm to prepare a bankruptcy filing ahead of the Oct. 15 payment.
Early Monday morning, Sears announced it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy -- which would allow it to reorganize and possibly reemerge from bankruptcy with some part of the business intact -- and received commitments for $300 million in debtor-in-possession financing to carry through the bankruptcy period while it restructures its debt and reorganizes its business.
[...] Sears will close 142 unprofitable stores near the end of this year, with liquidation sales at those stores expected to begin soon. It was not immediately clear where those stores are located or how many jobs would be affected. Those store closings are in addition to 46 others that were expected by next month.
[...] It has also already sold off many of its brands, including Craftsman tools, and hasn't turned a profit since 2010. Many of its most valuable properties have been sold off, with the other half leased and offering little cost savings from rent restructurings since Sears already pays below market rents.
-- submitted from IRC
(Score: 2) by EvilSS on Tuesday October 16 2018, @08:37PM (5 children)
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Snotnose on Tuesday October 16 2018, @08:49PM (4 children)
It's worked out pretty well for ol' Eddie. He sold all the Sears assets he could, now that there's nothing but a husk left he's shutting it down.
Who did he sell the assets to? As much as he could, other companies he either owned or controlled. This guy basically found a sick company, harvested the organs, and is now declaring "there's no hope for survival, too bad, so sad".
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Tuesday October 16 2018, @09:29PM (3 children)
Probably adding a healthy dose of "Plz give bailout money, kthxbye."
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 16 2018, @11:44PM (1 child)
Maybe, but they are probably going to take Sears value on paper at the beginning of the year and deduct all of that as a Capital Loss. Wham bam, thank you ma'am, what little taxes they would have paid have now magically disappeared.
(Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Wednesday October 17 2018, @04:05PM
I figured that was the plan from the start of combining KMart and Sears. Take a failing business add add it to a struggling one, combined you have enough debt to not pay taxes. Pump up stock prices, cash out, profit.
There is no ??? step.
Just looked at Sears' stock price post-merger in 2004. Yep, prices spiked up to over 130 in a couple years, and now is at .50 cents. I bet the guys behind the merger got out over a decade ago.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 2) by Fluffeh on Wednesday October 17 2018, @02:54AM
Pretty sure it's more a case of: You know that money we owe you... yeah... about that.... *smoke bomb*...