Time is running out for Sears. The bankrupt retailer could be forced to start the process of shutting down as soon as today if it doesn’t accept the only bid to save it. Parent company Sears Holdings, which filed for bankruptcy in October, had a deadline of this past Friday to accept a $4.4 billion bid from the hedge fund run by its chairman and former CEO, Eddie Lampert. The bid called for keeping 425 stores open and offering jobs to 50,000 of its remaining employees. But the deadline passed without any word from Sears on the status of the bid. Lampert’s hedge fund also declined to comment. A hearing is scheduled in bankruptcy court. The hearing was added to the schedule late Friday.
