Sears will reportedly pursue liquidation

Barry Brecheisen/Invision for Sears/AP Images

• Sears will ask a bankruptcy judge to pursue liquidation after reportedly rejecting a $4.4 billion takeover bid from Chairman Eddie Lampert.
• Lampert's hedge fund, ESL Investments, said his bid would have kept up to 50,000 of Sears' 68,000 workers employed.

Sears will reportedly ask a bankruptcy judge on Tuesday if it can liquidate after rejecting Chairman Eddie Lampert's $4.4 billion takeover bid, Reuters reports.

This would mark the end of the iconic retailer, which has survived two world wars and the Great Depression but failed to rebound from several years of sales declines under the control of Lampert, a former Goldman Sachs executive turned hedge-fund manager.

Lampert's hedge fund, ESL Investments, said his bid would have kept up to 50,000 of Sears' 68,000 workers employed.

If Sears pursues a liquidation, those 68,000 employees will lose their jobs as more than 600 Sears and Kmart stores will close.

Sears did not immediately respond to a request for comment.