Restoration doubts Sears' buyout bid

HOFFMAN ESTATES -- Restoration Hardware, the boutique furnishings retailer that has accepted a management-led buyout, said Friday that a lowered rival bid from Sears Holdings Corp. was not "reasonably likely to result in a superior proposal." The Hoffman Estates-based owner of Sears and Kmart earlier this week lowered its bid to from $6.75 a share to $4.55 a share to adjust to the Atlanta-based retailer's falling stock price. Under the revised management-led buyout, Restoration is due to receive $4.50 a share, or about $175 million. Sears has been seeking ways of growing the number of its locations.