Sears stock crashes to record low after report says bankruptcy coming

Sears CEO Eddie LampertAP

• Sears shares plunged 29% ahead of Wednesday’s opening bell after the Wall Street Journal reported it could file for bankruptcy protection as soon as this week.
• The cash-strapped retailer has $134 million in debt due on Monday, according to The WSJ.
• Sears appointed a restructuring expert, Alan Carr, to its board on Tuesday.
• Watch Sears trade in real time here.

Sears is set to open at a record low Wednesday, down more than 29% at $0.41 a share, after a report said it could file for bankruptcy protection as soon as this week.

The retailer has hired M-III Partners to prepare a bankruptcy filing as it has run out of cash and faces a debt payment deadline, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. M-III Partners is said to have been working on the potential bankruptcy filing for a few weeks, but the company is considering other options as well.

The court filing could come as soon as this week as the cash-strapped company has $134 million in debt due on Monday, The WSJ says.

On Tuesday, Sears appointed a restructuring expert, Alan Carr, to its board, expanding the six-person committee to seven. Carr has “significant experience as a principal, investor and advisor leading complex financial restructurings, as well as serving as a director of reorganized businesses in the US and Europe,” the company said.

Sears, who’s stock price topped at more than $120 a share in 2007, has struggled under the leadership of Eddie Lampert, a former Wall Street prodigy. Lampert took control of Sears more than a decade ago and became its CEO in 2013. 

The retailer has been losing money and closing stores for years, in part because of an e-commerce boom that has seen companies like Amazon dominate the industry. In May, shares got a short-lived boost following news that the company was partnering with Amazon to provide automotive services to Amazon customers at Sears locations, as Business Insider reported.

Sears has tanked 85% this year through Tuesday.

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