Sears reached an 11th-hour deal Tuesday to remain open -- at least for now. Attorneys for Sears said they had reached an acceptable agreement with a hedge fund controlled by Eddie Lampert, the chairman and former CEO of Sears, after a series of last-minute negotiations. Without an agreement, Sears faced the possibility of liquidation. The deal, a revised version of a $4.4 billion bid Lampert submitted in December, would keep 425 of the stores open if certain conditions are met. Under the new terms, Lampert must come up with a $120 million cash payment by Wednesday afternoon, as a down payment. By deeming Lampert's revised bid acceptable, Sears started the clock on an auction period that ends on January 14. Lampert's is the only bid designed to keep Sears open. But it is still possible that those wishing to shut down the company will bid more for the assets than Lampert is offering.