A spokesman for ESL said it bid for Sears "for one simple reason -- We believe in the potential to create a successful, multi-faceted, 21st century company that can benefit from the changes in today's retail environment."
But if Lampert's $5.2 billion bid to rescue Sears fails -- as its creditors want -- he has a secondary bid ready to go. Under the alternate plan, Lampert would pay $1.8 billion for just the stores.
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