Investors reach $40 million settlement in Sears real estate deal

Sears Holding Corp.’s chairman and CEO Eddie Lampert and the company's board settled a lawsuit alleging that the chief executive benefited from a spin-off deal.



The lawsuit was brought on behalf of Sears and against Lampert, other Sears directors and Seritage Growth Properties, the real estate investment trust established to acquire 235 of the struggling chain’s best stores, reported Reuters.



After Sears spun off Seritage in 2015 to its shareholders by way of a rights offering, Seritage then paid $2.6 billion for Sears and Kmart stores, most of which were leased back to Sears Holding. The report said that Lambert controlled Sears and owns about 9.6% of Seritage, although investors alleged he controlled the real estate company.



The lawsuit is a derivative action and the settlement payment will be made to Sears, Reuters said.



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