There’s been a lot of twists and turns in the ongoing saga of Sears, but it looks like this time, it really is game over.

Sears Holdings has rejected Chairman Eddie Lampert’s bid to save the 126-year-old company, setting the storied retailer with more than 50,000 employees on a path to liquidation, people familiar with the situation told CNBC on Tuesday. Sears, which also owns Kmart, planned to announce its liquidation plans Tuesday morning, the people said.

Lampert had put forward a $4.4 billion bid to save Sears by buying it out of bankruptcy through his hedge fund ESL Investments. His offer, though, was deemed insufficient by Sears’ advisors, the people said. One of the biggest unresolved issues was covering the fees and vendor payment it owes, making it “administratively insolvent.”

Still, ESL plans to protest Sears’ decision, a person familiar with the situation told CNBC. ESL, which worked over the weekend to improve its offer, will point to the extensive advisory fees that Sears has racked up during bankruptcy. Such fees are part of Sears’ administrative expenses.

cnbc.com