Eddie Lampert, former CEO of Sears.
Source: Sears Holdings
Seritage Growth Properties, a real estate investment trust that was separated from the Sears department store chain in 2015, said Tuesday it was exploring strategic alternatives for its business.
The company also announced that former Sears CEO Eddie Lampert, who was chairman of the Seritage board, was stepping down and taking effect immediately.
Lampert said in a statement that he wanted more flexibility to explore alternatives to his investment in Seritage, which could include involvement with countries that may be interested in acquiring certain assets from the company.
As of September 30, Lampert held a 22.1% stake in the company and about 9.3% of Seritage’s Class A shares, according to a securities filing.
Andrea Olshan, president and CEO of Seritage, added in a statement that the real estate company’s board believes there is a continuing mismatch between the company’s share price and the net asset value.
“We believe that starting this process is the most effective way to unlock the full potential of this portfolio,” she said.
Olshan took over as CEO about a year ago and her focus is on redeveloping about 170 properties in which Seritage has interests. Since March 2021, Seritage has stated that it is no longer exposed to Sears or Kmart as it fills these spaces with new tenants.
Seritage said Barclays served as its financial adviser during the review process.
The company also said Tuesday that current board members David Fower and Thomas Steinberg will not want to be re-elected at an annual shareholders’ meeting. The company is looking for additional candidates for boards.
Shares of Seritage recently rose more than 3% in pre-market trading. Shares fell 23 percent year-over-year to $ 444.6 million.
Find the full press release here.
Fix: Sears continues to work. An earlier version erroneously characterized the department store chain.