Ex-Sears CEO Eddie Lampert and his hedge fund were hit with a Delaware lawsuit claiming they’re trying to force a self-dealing $121 million buyout of the bankrupt retail giant’s remaining assets after decades of stripping it for parts, Bloomberg News reported. Lampert and ESL Investments Inc. used their majority control of Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores Inc. to run an unfair sale process designed to root out dissident board members, according to the Chancery Court complaint. The heavily redacted suit was made public Oct. 10 after being filed under seal Oct. 4 by two investors, including one who owns nine Sears Hometown showrooms in Arizona. Lampert ultimately made a lowball offer of $3.25 per non-insider share, a “paltry premium” of 1.5 percent over the stock price, according to the complaint. He allegedly timed the proposal “opportunistically” to coincide with poor financial results that made the price more attractive by comparison. Those actions reflect Lampert’s “long and similar pattern” of “dominating” the boards of his investment targets and using that control solely for his own benefit, according to the complaint.
