Sears receives another reprieve

NEW YORK

Sears received another possible lifeline Tuesday when the company’s chairman and largest shareholder promised to line up the necessary financing to keep the struggling department store chain afloat.

The reprieve came after what Sears lawyers described to a bankruptcy judge in New York as “round-the-clock” negotiations after the company board’s initial rejection of Eddie Lampert’s proposal, which sought to preserve 425 stores and 50,000 workers.

According to lawyers close to the matter, one of the main sticking points was that the bid didn’t include cash. The revised version now requires Lampert to deposit $120 million by 4 p.m. today through his ESL hedge fund.