Sears Canada Shares Dropped As Report Breaks It May Seek Bankruptcy Protection.

Sears Canada’s stock has plunged as a news report follows indicating that it’s preparing to seek bankruptcy protection.

On the Toronto Stock Exchange, the shares declined 22.5 per cent, or 18 cents, to 62 cents.

Prior to the year, the company was warning that there was “significant doubt” about its future and that it could be sold or restructured when the stock had already declined.

Sears Canada did not answer to any comments.

Bloomberg reported that the national retailer is preparing for a court filing or liquidation from creditors within weeks and that the business might be sold.

The Toronto-based company and its American partner have been experiencing waning sales for quite a long time because of changes to consumer purchasing patterns and new rivalry, especially from online shopping.

In April, Sears Canada announced that its 2016-17 loss was $321 million.

Shareholders rank after lenders and creditors in a court-supervised liquidation proceeding, so Sears Canada offers could lose most or the greater part of their assets in the event that it files under the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act or Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.

As indicated by regulatory documents, its greatest direct and indirect shareholder is billionaire Edward S. Lampert, who likewise controls the Sears Holding Corp. a public company that possesses Sears and Kmart stores in the United States.

Wednesday on the Nasdaq, shares of Sears Holdings, which holds a minority stake in the Canadian operation, declined more than five percent.

Endeavors to achieve hedge fund ESL Investments Inc. and, Sears Holdings for input were not effective on Wednesday.