Drain said that Sears will weigh Lampert's offer against a proposed liquidation during a Jan. 14 bankruptcy auction. Should Lampert's offer falter again, he will forfeit more than $17 million from his deposit to Sears creditors. Lampert's bid, which recently envisioned keeping open 425 stores and preserving up to 50,000 jobs, still faces hurdles that could cause it to unravel in the coming days and prompt Sears to shut down for good. "This is a large company...that affects a lot of people," Drain said during Tuesday's hearing. He called the expectation of a revised bid from Lampert a "good development" that could allow Sears to "survive as a going concern, at least in part."