Report: Market speculates that Sears will go private

New York City -- A report by Reuters on Tuesday revealed widespread Wall Street speculation that Sears Holdings Corp. may go private.



"There is a rumor that Bruce Berkowitz of Fairholme and Eddie Lampert could take Sears private," Jon Najarian, a co-founder of TradeMonster.com in Chicago, told Reuters.



Sears has not commented on the rumors, which come days after CIT Group halted loans that Sears' suppliers use to finance the goods they sell to the Sears and Kmart chains.



The report, citing documents filed last Wednesday, said that CEO Eddie Lampert, who owns about 59% of the company, bought roughly $159 million worth of Sears shares from his ESL Investments hedge fund, representing 4.46 million shares in private sales. In addition, Lampert also bought shares on the open market for about $12 million.