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(Bloomberg) -- Bankrupt retailer Big Lots Inc. no longer anticipates it can complete its asset sale to private equity firm Nexus Capital Management LP and will commence the sale of its stores in coming days to protect the value of its real estate.

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The discount chain that employs more than 27,000 people said in a statement Thursday it continues look for another way to stay in business through a transaction it would look to complete by the end of January if a deal can be struck.

“We all have worked extremely hard and have taken every step to complete a going concern sale,” Bruce Thorn, Big Lots’ president and chief executive officer said. “While we remain hopeful that we can close an alternative going concern transaction, in order to protect the value of the Big Lots estate, we have made the difficult decision to begin the GOB process.”

The announcement comes as a valuation appraisal of the company’s inventory came in lower than expected, making the economics of the sale to Nexus no longer viable, according to people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter. At the same time, landlords had pressured the company in court to explain why it hadn’t closed the deal with Nexus, which agreed to buy the company after it filed for Chapter 11 in September.

An official committee of unsecured creditors on Monday asked in court that the company either pay tens of millions of dollars in back rent, or be liquidated by a court-approved trustee. US Bankruptcy Judge J. Kate Stickles is scheduled to hear a status report on that dispute and the Nexus sale during a court hearing Thursday.

A representative for Guggenheim Partners, which is advising the company, declined to comment. Representatives from Big Lots, Nexus, as well as Kirkland & Ellis, which is advising Nexus, and the company’s legal counsel Davis Polk & Wardwell, did not return messages seeking comment.

Columbus, Ohio-based Big Lots has suffered from declining sales for years, including in recent quarters, as rising inflation squeezed the wallets of its budget-conscious shoppers. Other retailers, including Conn’s Inc. and LL Flooring Holdings Inc., have come under strain amid a slowdown in home spending.

Party City Holdco Inc. is planning to file for bankruptcy possibly within the next two weeks, in a process that may lead to the liquidation of its stores, Bloomberg reported. Container Store Group Inc. is also preparing to file for bankruptcy in the coming weeks following mounting losses and escalating liquidity woes, Bloomberg also reported earlier this month.