HOFFMAN ESTATES (dpa-AFX) - Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) announced Thursday that its rights offering to effect the separation of Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores, Inc. from the company closed today.
Sears Hometown has now been separated from Sears Holdings and its common stock is expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol 'SHOS' on October 12, 2012. Sears Holdings received aggregate gross proceeds from the separation transactions of $446.5 million, consisting of a cash dividend of $100 million paid by Sears Hometown prior to the separation and aggregate gross proceeds from the rights offering of $346.5 million.
Sears Holdings said it will continue to be listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol 'SHLD.'
The company previously said that the rights offering was fully subscribed, with over 95% of the outstanding shares of common stock of Sears Hometown being subscribed for pursuant to the exercise of basic subscription rights and the balance being subscribed for pursuant to the over-subscription privilege.
Sears Holdings said it distributed a total of 23.10 million shares of Sears Hometown common stock to the holders of subscription rights who validly exercised their subscription rights and paid the subscription price in full.
As part of the separation transactions consummated, Sears Hometown entered into an asset-based senior secured revolving credit facility with a group of financial institutions to provide for aggregate maximum borrowings of $250 million, borrowings under which were used to fund the dividend paid to Sears Holdings.
In late-February 2012, the company had said it plans to spin-off about 1,250 of its Sears Hometown and Outlet Businesses and certain hardware stores through a proposed rights offering.
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© 2012 AFX News
