PBGC has been working with Sears for several years to improve the financing of the company`s plans and first reached an agreement in 2016. Through agreements with the Agency, Sears first sold its Craftsman brand to fund retirement plans and then was allowed to sell real estate to raise funds. As part of its agreement with the PBGC, Sears agrees to protect the assets of subsidiaries holding real estate and their intellectual property, but they will have attached to them the so-called «Springing Links», which will be triggered when Sears ceases to provide pension contributions, prohibits a transfer of ownership to subsidiaries or terminates its plan. They would also be triggered if Sears or the subsidiaries go bankrupt. The deal announced Thursday exists only between the PBGC and Sears. The sales contract, published Friday in an application for approval, does not include any retirement plan. Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD) is a leading integrated retailer focused on seamlessly connecting digital and physical shopping experiences to serve our members, where, when and how they want to shop. Sears Holdings is the home of Shop Your Way®, a social shopping platform that offers members rewards for their purchases at Sears and Kmart, as well as with other retail partners in categories important to them. The company operates in the United States through its subsidiaries, including Sears, Roebuck and Co.

and Kmart Corporation. For more information, see www.searsholdings.com «This agreement with pbGC is another positive step forward that, once concluded, will bring financial flexibility to our business while supporting our commitment to employees and retirees covered by pension plans,» said Edward S. Lampert, Chief Executive Officer of Sears Holdings. «While the declining interest rate environment has had a significant and adverse impact on the financing of pension plans, Sears Holdings has demonstrated its commitment to the descendants of this bond.» PBGC protects the pension benefits of nearly 37 million Americans in private pension plans. The Agency administers two separate insurance programs, one for single-employer sponsored pension plans and the other for multi-employer pension plans sponsored by more than one employer and maintained under collective agreements. PbGC is currently responsible for the benefits of approximately 1.5 million people in failed retirement plans. PBGC does not receive taxpayers` money. Its operations are financed by insurance premiums, capital income and, for the Single Employer program, by assets and recoveries on defaulting single employment plans.. .

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