Sears is getting one last chance to save itself from oblivion

Business Insider/Jessica Tyler

• Sears Chairman Eddie Lampert has another chance to save the company from total liquidation.
• Lampert's $4.4 billion takeover bid will be assessed against competing parties' bids at an auction scheduled for January 14, the judge said during a hearing in New York on Tuesday.

Sears Chairman Eddie Lampert has one last chance to save the company from a total liquidation.

Lampert's $4.4 billion takeover bid will be assessed against competing parties' bids at an auction scheduled for January 14, a US bankruptcy judge said in court on Tuesday.

"The auction … will involve the debtors and their key consulting parties evaluating not only ESL's [proposal] but all their alternatives," Judge Robert Drain said.

He referenced the size of Sears and the fact that the company "affects a lot of people," and said ESL's proposal may enable Sears to "survive as a going concern."

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.