Sears Canada sale report denied, but shares climb
By Hollie Shaw, Financial Post November 26, 2013
Eddie Lampert, chairman at Sears Holding, has spoken to several major investment banks including Goldman Sachs about overseeing the sale process, sources familiar with the matter told the newspaper.
Photograph by: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young , Financial Post
Sears Holdings Corp. is denying reports it wants to sell off Sears Canada Inc., but this didn’t seem to deter investors Monday.
Shares of the U.S. retailer, which owns 51% of the struggling Canadian department store chain, jumped 7% after the
New York Post reported chairman and CEO Eddie Lampert had spoken to several major investment banks including Goldman Sachs about overseeing a sale process of the Canadian unit, citing anonymous sources.
Other sources said Mr. Lampert, who controls 55% of Sears Holdings, has been quietly soliciting potential interest in Sears Canada for some time, without much luck.
“It is false to claim that Mr. Lampert, the CEO of Sears Holdings, is interviewing or otherwise is in talks with investment bankers about Sears Holdings’ interest in Sears Canada,” said a statement by the Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based retailer on Monday.
The flagging department store chain, which posted a wider third-quarter loss and falling sales last week, reiterated an earlier statement by Mr. Lampert’s, noting it wished to work with the board and management of Sears Canada “with a goal of increasing the value of our 51% interest and realizing significant cash proceeds to support our transformation and to create value for our shareholders.”