IN BRIEF

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill.

Sears may reorganize into several companies

Sears Holdings Corp. plans to reorganize into several companies in another bid to pull the ailing 121-year-old retailer out the doldrums, according to a report.

The restructuring could create separate units to manage Sears real-estate holdings and run brands such as Diehard and Craftsman, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Edward Lampert, the hedge fund kingpin and Sears Holdings chairman, sees the move as a way to revitalize the company in the face of tough competition from companies like Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the newspaper said, citing unnamed people familiar with the situation.

Details, including which units might run the Hoffman Estates-based company's 3,800 Sears and Kmart stores in the United States and Canada, weren't clear.

On Monday, Sears Holdings told investors it would likely post fourth-quarter earnings well below Wall Street forecasts as eroding sales push its profit down as much as 57 percent.

ROCHESTER, N.Y.

Bausch & Lomb to buy lens making company

Bausch & Lomb announced Sunday that the eye health company plans to acquire eyeonics, inc., a privately held California company that makes a special lens used in cataract repair.

Rochester-based Bausch & Lomb did not disclose financial terms. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter.

Eyeonics is based in Aliso Viejo, Calif.

Once acquired, eyeonics will be wrapped into Bausch & Lomb's surgical business, the company said.