Sears Holdings Corporation (OTCPK:SHLD.Q)’s Chairman Lampert, Edward Scott submitted a $4.4 billion bid in an effort to buy Sears Holdings and keep it alive. Lampert’s ESL Investments, Inc., put forward the tentative proposal for the parent of Kmart and Sears earlier in December 2018, with his formal submission due. The offer came just in time to meet the 4:00 p.m. deadline, CNBC first reported. The bid would “offer employment to up to 50,000 associates,” the spokesperson for ESL said, cautioning, though, that it would depend on “further actions Sears may take between now and closing.” It would also reinstate severance protections for “eligible employees.” The bid may help divert liquidation, but may not necessarily. Sears’ advisors have until Jan. 4 to decide whether ESL is a “qualified bidder.” Only then could ESL take part in an auction against liquidation bids on Jan. 14. They will weigh the value of Lampert’s bid against offers to liquidate Sears. The full structure of Lampert’s bid could not immediately be determined, but will be made public in coming days. If it is similar to the $4.6 billion proposal Lampert outlined earlier in December 2018, it is likely to face pushback from the company’s unsecured creditors. Sears declined to comment to CNBC for the story.