A bankruptcy judge on Thursday blessed a $5.2 billion plan by Sears chairman and biggest shareholder to keep the iconic business going.

The approval means roughly 425 stores and 45,000 jobs will be preserved. Sears operates department stores in Danbury and Manchester.

Eddie Lampert’s bid through an affiliate of his ESL hedge fund overcame opposition from a group of unsecured creditors, including mall owners and suppliers, that tried to block the sale and pushed hard for the company’s liquidation.

In delivering his decision, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain for the Southern District of New York rejected the group’s claims that the sale process was unfair and flawed, that it shut out any others who could have been interested in buying the business and that Sears had more value to its creditors if it died than if it lived.

But the ghost of Toys R Us loomed large in the Sears bankruptcy case. The toy retailer was forced into liquidation last year just months after it tried to reorganize under bankruptcy court, wiping out 30,000 jobs.

Even with this latest reprieve, Sears’ long-term survival remains an open question. Kunal Kamlani, president of ESL, shared his vision this week of building a network of smaller stores that highlights mattresses and major appliances, but the details are still lacking.

In fact, William Transier, an independent board member of Sears since October, acknowledged during the hearing that Sears could shutter an average of three stores per month and sell $600 million in real estate over the next three years. And the company still faces cutthroat competition from Amazon, Target and Walmart. This while its stores look old and drab.

Lampert, who merged Sears and Kmart in 2005, steered Sears into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October. The company’s corporate parent, which also owns Kmart, had 687 stores and 68,000 employees at the time of the filing. At its peak in 2012, its stores numbered 4,000.

Lampert’s original plan was rejected by a subcommittee of the Sears board. ESL sweetened the bid several times before the subcommittee gave it the OK. Lampert also tried to get release from litigation claims as part of the deal to buy the company. But the subcommittee of the Sears board overseeing the auction pushed back, and Lampert and ESL can be sued for certain past deals prior to the bankruptcy. The committee of unsecured creditors has maintained there’s value in those litigation claims.