ESL seeks to block Sears Hometown liquidation

NEW YORK ― ESL Partners, Eddie Lampert’s hedge fund, has replaced two directors of Sears Hometown & Outlet Stores in an effort to block an “immediate liquidation” of the chain. ESL owns 58% of the former Sears unit and Lampert’s Transform Holdco, the entity which replaced Sears Holdings, is trying to buy out the remaining interest. ESL has also amended Sears Hometown’s by-laws “to ensure that the reconstituted board has time to adequately consider the effects of such a decision and listen to stockholders’ views,” according to a filing with the Securities Exchange Commission. Sears Hometown & Outlet Stores was spun off from Sears Holdings in 2012.