Sears and Its Hedge Fund Owner, in Slow Decline Together
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A Sears store in a nearly empty Westfield Meriden shopping mall on Tuesday in Meriden, Conn. Sears Holdings has long been ESL Investments’ largest investment. The company last week expressed “substantial doubt” it can keep going. CreditSpencer Platt/Getty Images
Hedge funds have been failing over the last year at the fastest rate since the financial crisis in 2008. Some crashed and burned after sudden reversals. Others quietly liquidated.
Then there’s Edward S. Lampert’s ESL Investments. It hasn’t failed, but may be setting a benchmark for slow, painful declines thanks to its outsize, long-term bet on two venerable retailers, Sears and Kmart.
Last week, Sears Holdings, the parent company, said what was becoming increasingly obvious to most investors, not to mention anyone who’s been in a Sears store lately: “Substantial doubt exists related to the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”…
Sears and Its Hedge Fund Owner, in Slow Decline Together
