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Eddie Lampert and Bruce Berkowitz called off a potential joint bankruptcy deal for Sears Canada Inc., clearing the way for other bidders to challenge its two largest shareholders, MarketWatch.com reported on Friday. The two hedge-fund managers on Friday terminated a joint legal engagement ahead of an Aug. 31 bid deadline. ESL Partners LP, the hedge fund operated by Lampert, also said it might sell "some or all" of its 45.3 percent Sears Canada stake to generate a tax loss for its investors.

U.S. women's shoe company Aerosoles Group is exploring several options including a debt restructuring or sale of the company, as it struggles to adapt to fast-changing consumer tastes, Reuters reported. Aerosoles, known for its affordable flats and wedges, has hired investment bank Piper Jaffray Companies and financial advisory consultant Berkeley Research Group to carry out the strategic review. The shoe company has about 80 stores in the United States and more than 300 around the world, including in China, India and Peru, and is also sold in stores including J.C. Penney Company Inc (JCP.N), Kohls Corp. and DSW Inc. Aerosoles has faced fierce competition from other shoe retailers. Once part of Kenneth Cole Productions Inc, Aerosoles has found it challenging to lure shoppers to its stores and website with unique products. The Edison, New Jersey-based company also faces the same headwinds as other brick-and-mortar retailers, as e-commerce companies such as Amazon.com Inc. become more popular with shoppers looking for the cheapest price.

A wave of retail bankruptcies washing through court has revived an old debate about the role of private-equity firms in accelerating the problems of companies in distress, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Payless ShoeSource Inc., Gymboree Corp., rue21 Inc. and True Religion Apparel Inc. were all acquired by private-equity firms during the past decade. Now, lawyers for creditors have questioned whether private-equity firms share blame for the retailers’ financial collapse, in some cases by loading debt on the companies. Since 2010, more than $90 billion in leveraged loans and high-yield bonds were raised for private-equity-owned retail borrowers to make dividend payouts to their investors, according to LCD, a part of S&P Global Market Intelligence. That is in addition to the leverage often assumed in the buyout itself.

For hundreds of brides and bridesmaids, the now-bankrupt Alfred Angelo has clients’ money and their dress, NBC Connecticut reported yesterday. The company’s bankruptcy filing lists 277 creditors in Connecticut, and dresses shipped after June 24 are stuck at the port in California and will not arrive to its customers. Alfred Angelo recently sent its bankruptcy notice to its creditors. The case has to go through its respective process, which will likely take at least six months. In the meantime, those affected can file a claim through the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida, where Alfred Angelo is based. The court has one general case for Alfred Angelo customers and another one for those specifically affected in the northeast. The company’s attorney, Patricia A. Redmond, suggests affected customers take advantage of both cases. She added that a claim status update will likely be available early 2018.

The RadioShack brand will live on after a family office already owed $23 million by the bankrupt U.S. electronics chain agreed to assume ownership of it, as no other buyers submitted better bids this week, Reuters reported yesterday. An affiliate of Kensington Capital Holdings, a family office based in the Boston suburbs, is set to acquire RadioShack's intellectual property after it submitted a $15 million bid. Kensington had made a $23 million loan to RadioShack after it exited its first bankruptcy two years ago and had secured a deal with U.S. wireless carrier Sprint Corp. to co-brand 1,400 stores. The deadline for other bidders to make offers was Tuesday, but no better proposals were received.