Sears received another possible lifeline Tuesday when the company’s chairman and largest shareholder promised to line up the necessary financing to keep the struggling department store chain afloat.

The reprieve came after what Sears lawyers described to a bankruptcy judge in New York as “round-the-clock” negotiations following the company board’s initial rejection of Eddie Lampert’s proposal, which sought to preserve 425 stores and 50,000 workers.

The eleventh hour negotiation is yet another twist in the rocky journey of Sears whose fate has been hanging in the wind, particularly since it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Oct. 15. As of the filing, the company had just under 700 stores and 68,000 workers, including three department stores in Danbury, Manchester and Meriden that could go up for sale in any liquidation.

According to lawyers close to the matter, one of the main sticking points was that the bid didn’t include cash. The revised version now requires Lampert to deposit $120 million by 4 p.m. Wednesday through his ESL hedge fund.