Sears, the fallen iconic American retailer, has reportedly hired an advisory firm to prepare a bankruptcy filing.
The filing could come this week in anticipation of the company’s $134 million debt payment due on Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported. The boutique advisory firm, New-York based M-III Partners, has spent the past few weeks working on the filing, the Journal reported. Still, the possibility of Sears’ demise has loomed for months, and people familiar with the arrangement told the Journal that Sears is still weighing other options. Neither Sears nor M-III Partners returned requests for comment.
Sears shares were down more than 36 percent in midday trading on Wednesday.
The 125-year-old retailer has been hit particularly hard as brick-and-mortar stores have struggled to maintain massive showrooms and compete with e-commerce giants. But if Sears is now in touch with banks to secure the financing needed for a bankruptcy filing, as CNBC reported on Wednesday morning, that could send the surest signal yet that such a move may not be far off.