Eddie Lampert, chairman of Sears Holdings Corp and founder of hedge fund ESL Investments Inc, has made an offer valued at $4.6 billion to buy bankrupt U.S. retailer Sears, one of the only options that would prevent the department store chain from shutting its doors for good. Lampert's offer calls for about 500 Sears stores to remain open and would keep 50,000 of the retailer's workers employed, according to a letter from his hedge fund filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The 125-year-old company faces a series of deadlines this month to find a buyer that would keep it in business as some of its creditors call for it to shut down, claiming they would be repaid more through going-out-of-business sales.

Lampert's hedge fund has been working on a bid for Sears since the company filed for bankruptcy in October. It features financing from a variety of sources and a complicated structure not uncommon in bankruptcy auctions. ESL also proposes to acquire Sears Auto Centers, appliance brand Kenmore, battery line DieHard and the retailer's home services division, the largest U.S. appliance repair provider.

Many retailers that have filed for bankruptcy in recent years, including toy seller Toys R Us Inc and department store Bon-Ton Stores Inc, have liquidated after no viable offers to keep the companies open were made.

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