Sears' largest shareholder and chairman has won a bankruptcy auction for Sears.
The Associated Press reports the retail chain will avert liquidation for now.
Billionaire Eddie Lampert, 56, is the chairman, who drove Sears and Kmart to Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October 2018. He is the only person to put in a bid to purchase the whole company.
There are still an estimated 400 Sears stores open in the U.S., the AP reports.
The plan for Lampert to purchase Sears must be approved at a Feb. 1 hearing in New York, in front a a bankruptcy judge.
