Nov. 19--Sears Holdings Corp. expects to receive the full $625 million it had targeted in a previously announced rights offering after the subscription period ended Tuesday evening with the offering oversubscribed, the retailer said.
Hoffman Estates-based Sears has initiated several fundraising efforts in the past few months to boost liquidity through the holidays and beyond as the struggling department store chain reassures vendors it can pay for its orders. The $625 million in five-year, 8 percent senior unsecured notes and warrants is on top of $380 million Sears raised by selling most of its stake in Sears Canada through a rights offering. That offering closed last week also oversubscribed.
Sears Chairman and CEO Eddie Lampert, who through his hedge funds owns 48.5 percent of the company, has fully exercised his subscription rights for both offerings, so almost half of the $1 billion raised came from his pockets. In addition, Lampert lent Sears $400 million in September.
"As you can see, we have been able to fund our peak inventory needs while we have demonstrated substantial financial flexibility by enhancing our liquidity and reducing our debt year-over-year," Sears Chief Financial Officer Rob Schriesheim said in a post on the company blog.
Sears expects the warrants from the latest offering will begin to trade on the NASDAQ Global Select Market on Wednesday under the symbol SHLDW.
Sears shares closed Tuesday up 29 cents, or less than 1 percent, at $35.91.
aelejalderuiz@tribune.com
