Is it possible Amazon would buy Sears and SHLD would skyrocket?
Severely distressed assets don't typically command a huge premium in price. I suppose a strategic case could be made for Amazon wanting to acquire Sears (a-la a Whole Foods kind of buy out), but the price would factor in the cost to service Sears' debt, which Amazon would then own.
A marginal bump in stock price, yeah,
maybe, but I think
skyrocket is pretty much off the table no matter what happens to Sears at this point. For this to happen, Sears assets would have to fit pretty cleanly within an as yet unannounced strategic vision for Amazon's growth path.
And even if it did fit perfectly, Amazon might be better served by waiting for Sears to slide into chapter 7, and then buy up those assets free and clear of debt at fire sale prices. Who would pay full price for your house, or even just agree to assume the mortgage,
after it had already burned to the ground? At this point, Sears is just a smoldering pile of rubble with a mortgage that can't be serviced.