Sears parent co. buying Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. (AP) - The parent company of Sears, controlled by former Sears CEO Eddie Lampert, is buying the rest of Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores Inc. that it doesn't already own and reuniting the business with the Sears and Kmart stores.

Sears Hometown was spun off from Sears Holdings Corp., the former parent company of Sears and Kmart, in 2012.

Transform Holdco LLC said Monday that it will pay $2.25 per share. ESL Investments Inc. and its affiliates, the majority owners of Transform, currently hold 58% of Sears Hometown's outstanding stock.

Under the deal, Sears Hometown can sell its Sears Outlet and Buddy's Home Furnishing Stores businesses (together, the "Outlet Segment") to a third party for not less than $97.5 million.

The going-private transaction is targeted to close in the third quarter.