Struggling retailer Sears Holdings Corp said it was exploring the conversion of 200-300 stores to a real estate investment trust (REIT) and offer it to shareholders through a rights offering to raise cash.The company was looking to monetize a portion of its real estate through a sale-leaseback transaction, it said in a regulatory filing.Sears has been trying to raise cash to get it through the build-up to the year-end shopping season and it has repeatedly turned to Chief Executive Eddie Lampert and his hedge fund, which together own 48.5 percent of Sears.The company has been closing stores, slashing inventory and selling off assets to generate cash after a decade of falling sales and dwindling margins. It has booked losses for nine straight quarters.
Sears Holdings Corporation (Holdings) is a retailer with 2,172 full-line and 1,338 specialty retail stores in the United States operating through Kmart Holding Corporation (Kmart) and Sears, Roebuck and Co. Shares of SHLD remained unchanged at $32.67. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $22.45 and as high as $62.87. On average, 1639030 shares of SHLD exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 10372.
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