Sears, Ibm Consider Selling Prodigy Share

Sears, Roebuck & Co. and International Business Machines Corp. are considering selling their 50 percent stakes in Prodigy Services Co., after investing more than $1 billion over 10 years in the flagging on-line business, people who work for the companies said.

IBM also is considering buying Sears’ half of the business, said a person who works for IBM. Sears, which has retained Goldman, Sachs & Co. as its investment banker for the potential sale, in the last three months offered its half of Prodigy to IBM after deciding to focus on its retail operations, the people said.

So far, IBM has rejected buying the 50 percent of Prodigy it doesn’t own.

Analysts have said that Sears is seeking between $300 million and $500 million for its share of Prodigy, which some industry executives said is too high a price.