$611M in Sears Canada dividend payments under review by court monitor

The court appointed monitor for Sears Canada's insolvency says it is reviewing millions of dollars the company paid in dividends while its pension fund fell short.

FTI Consulting Canada Inc. filed a report Monday with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice that says it will review some transactions, payments and dividends entered into, made or declared by the company before they filed for protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act.

The monitor identifies a $102 million dividend payment on Dec. 31, 2012 and a $509 million dividend payment on Dec. 6, 2013 as two transactions of interest.

When the department store chain sought approval to liquidate in 2017, it was grappling with a more than $260 million shortfall in its pension plan.

A Sears Canada Retiree Association website says the pension was 19 per cent short of what it needed to meet its commitments as of Dec. 31, 2015.

The retail chain's last remaining stores closed their doors for the final time on Jan. 14 this year.

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@2wks-- I doubt even then anyone would jump in. At the federal level the DOJ and SEC would be in charge and if Munchin jumped in the press would have a field day. And then at the state level any state AG could bring some sort of charge or sue the company of Eddie.

@2aad I don't think he meant there might be a bailout, just that there won't be prosecutions.

After everyone complained about Obama bailing companies out (too big to fail) I doubt they will allow any government official to step in and save a small cap piece of junk like SHLD.

Eddie has a friend in the United States government!!i Sec of Treasury Mnunich is Eddies college buddy

The fleecing of America

Could this be massive fines for Eddie or even jail time? I'm not up on Canadian law.

Wonder if Eddie has any buddies in Canadian government? Or if anyone in Canada still has respect for and of his buddies in the US Government?

Bill Jones, director of the Canadian Federation of Pensioners, says Sears is another example of a broken, or partially broken, pension promise. He points to the billions of dollars Sears Canada has been sending to majority shareholder Edward Lampert, chairman of Sears Holdings Corp., while failing to put money in the pension fund against the deficit. As a result, “all the people who are Sears pensioners or are going to become pensioners if they’re active employees

Had the pension been brought up to 100% before any payments to fast Eddie, the pensioners wd not be seeing a pension cut!

Who benefited from this payment? Eddie I assume?

So your saying it's not only unethical but possibly illegal to make millions at the expense of in store associates?

Who would have thunk it?

Thread regarding Sears layoffs

$611M in Sears Canada dividend payments under review by court monitor

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